387 flood insurance claims·$2.4M paid·6 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, accounting for 56 recorded events and one death alongside 24 general flood events over the last 30 years. NOAA storm records illustrate this pattern, noting that a warm, moist airmass and training storms produced flash flooding on June 27, 2025. Additional flash flood events driven by a stalled boundary and lingering moisture occurred on June 17, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data show that risks extend beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A properties experienced the highest claim volume with 240 filings, averaging an 8-inch water depth and an $8,764 payout. However, properties outside primary flood zones also face documented risks. Zone X recorded 66 claims with an average 5-inch water depth and a $9,537 payout, while Zone X unshaded recorded 30 claims averaging a 6-inch water depth and a $3,068 payout. Zone X shaded properties logged 6 claims with an average 6-inch water depth and a $6,068 payout, and unknown zones accounted for 45 claims averaging a 2-inch water depth and a $1,752 payout. Homeowners in Zone A face the highest exposure, while residents in Zone X and unshaded areas should also pay close attention given the documented claims outside high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Indiana County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
276 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2004, with 76 claims and $395,154 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances and Tropical Depression Ivan.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
37 NOAA storm reports from Indiana County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 9, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jun 23, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 19, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
80 since 1996: 56 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Aug 12, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | May 7, 2022 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2025. A warm, moist airmass remained in place through the latter half of the month which allowed for daily shower and thunderstorm chances. Training storms was the primary factor to the resultant flash flooding as cells developed upshear of the initial updrafts in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. One of these storms did result in yet another round of flash flooding for portions of Wheeling WV.
Flash Flood · Jun 17, 2025. The stalled boundary began to lift north during the day on the 17th but remained the focus of diurnal convection. While the front did eventually shift off to the east on the 18th, additional storms were able to fire with the lingering moist airmass as an upper level disturbance approached.
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2024. A shortwave trough over the Great Lakes interacting with a quasi-stationary boundary over eastern Ohio and western PA spawned severe weather from mid afternoon through late evening. MLCAPE near 2000 J/kg along with a relatively strong, elongated shear profiles led to an environment for strong to severe winds and possible tornadoes.
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2024. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms prompted a widespread flash flood problems across the Ohio River Valley on April 2nd to April 3rd. The synoptic pattern across the CONUS was a slow moving and deep elongated trough over the Great Plains phasing with a ejecting trough over the Midwest that created an area of converging moisture over eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Overall, over a span of 4 days, fo…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Indiana County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.