429 flood insurance claims·$5.9M paid·5 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 Venango 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 risk in Venango County, accounting for 71 events compared to 29 standard flood events over the last 30 years. NOAA storm data illustrates this pattern through slow-moving thunderstorms driven by stalled weather boundaries and upper-level disturbances, which caused flash flooding in May and June of 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located in FEMA-designated Zone A face the highest risk, recording 159 claims with an average water depth of 8 inches and an average payout of $20,306. However, flood risk extends beyond high-risk zones; properties in unshaded Zone X recorded 108 claims with an average water depth of 3 inches, while shaded Zone X properties recorded 52 claims with an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risk due to the greater recorded water depths and claim frequency. Additionally, properties situated in shaded and unshaded Zone X areas require attention, as they have accumulated significant claim histories despite lower average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
50% of Venango County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
319 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 5 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 1981, with 109 claims and $1.3M paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Venango County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 21, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 19, 1996 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 19, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
100 since 1996: 71 flash floods and 29 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 25, 2025 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 25, 2025 | $200 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 25, 2025. Heavy rain from thunderstorms lead to flash flooding in Venango county.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 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 · 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 · Jun 14, 2025. Ample moisture and a near-stationary boundary assisted in the development of slow moving thunderstorms late on June 14th. Precipitable water values exceeding 90% of climatology, which supported efficient rainfall. Catastrophic flash flooding occurred in portions of Wheeling WV and that complex of storms expanded eastward, dumping 2-3 inches in an hour over portions of Washington county as well. There were several…
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 Venango 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.