927 flood insurance claims·$11.8M paid·7 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 Union 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.
Union County experiences a flood risk profile where standard river floods and flash floods dominate over tropical storm activity. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 24 flood events, 20 flash flood events, and 1 tropical storm. Severe weather episodes, such as the conditions driven by high CAPE and wind shear on August 7, 2023, contribute to this localized flood activity.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates that properties located within Zone A carry the heaviest risk burden, accounting for 759 total claims with an average payout of $15,801 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Additional claims are distributed across other zones, including 44 claims in Zone X with an average payout of $15,386 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches, 44 claims in Zone X_SHADED averaging a $14,948 payout with 14 inches of recorded water depth, 70 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging a $4,786 payout with 2 inches of recorded water depth, and 10 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging a $7,401 payout with 0 inches of recorded water depth.
Property owners in Zone A and Zone X, as well as those with unmapped or unknown flood zones, should pay the closest attention to these risks given the historical payout and water depth averages.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Union County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
813 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 12 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 1996, with 214 claims and $2.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Union County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 9, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
| Snow | Feb 14, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
45 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 7, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Aug 7, 2023 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 4, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Mar 12, 2015 | — |
| Flood | May 16, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 28, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Mar 10, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 7, 2023. High CAPE (>2500 J/kg) and strong speed and directional shear contributed to a significant severe weather episode across south-central Pennsylvania during the afternoon and evening of August 7, 2023. Of note, a significant bow echo produced widespread wind damage and a trio of weak (EF0-EF1) tornadoes across southern York and Lancaster Counties.
Flash Flood · Feb 4, 2022. Warm temperatures and rainfall resulted in an ice jam on Penns Creek in the Millmont area of Union County.
Flood · Mar 12, 2015. With the milder temperatures beginning on March 11th���some minor flooding was reported across the HSA, mainly due to ice jams.||Later on Thursday March 12th an ice jam was reported by the public along Penns Creek upstream from the Route 104 Bridge, and a flood advisory was issued for parts of Union and Snyder Counties.||On March 13th and 14th temperatures again warmed along with a period of rainfall. A flo…
Flood · May 16, 2014. Deep southerly flow transported a plume of seasonably high moisture into the region along a slow-moving, north-south oriented cold front. This favorable heavy rain pattern produced a stripe of 2.5-5.0 inches of rainfall from the northern Blue Ridge into the north-central mountains of Pennsylvania. Widespread small stream flooding and multiple road closures were reported with five river forecast points in the Junia…
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 Union 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.