1,753 flood insurance claims·$20.6M paid·9 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 York 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 York County, Pennsylvania. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 96 flash flood events causing two deaths, compared to 43 general flood events and one tropical storm. Recent events illustrate this hazard, including multiple flash floods in July 2025 driven by moist, unstable environments and saturated soils that resulted in numerous water rescues across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk extends across multiple zones, with Zone A experiencing the highest volume at 900 claims with an average payout of $18,037 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 220 claims with an average payout of $18,363 and an average water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X unshaded properties recorded 172 claims with an average payout of $14,251 and an average water depth of 10 inches. Zone X shaded properties recorded 149 claims averaging $10,761 with an average water depth of 8 inches, and properties with unknown zones recorded 312 claims averaging $4,856 with an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X and unknown zones where historical claims demonstrate a clear risk of property damage from rising water.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
26% of York County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,221 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 9 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 2011, with 414 claims and $7.6M paid, the year of Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee and Tropical Storm Lee.
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.
25 NOAA storm reports from York County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Aug 31, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 4, 2014 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
140 since 1996: 96 flash floods and 43 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. A fairly moist and unstable environment ahead of a shortwave trough allowed for showers and thunderstorms to begin forming across central Pennsylvania during the morning hours of July 14, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms became more numerous into the early afternoon hours, pushing eastward through the evening hours. Saturated soils across eastern Pennsylvania from recent flooding allowed for numerous instances of f…
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2025. A shortwave trough, moving through an unstable and extremely moist air mass (PWATs over 2.00) over central Pennsylvania, allowed for showers and thunderstorms to develop across the area during the afternoon hours of July 13, 2025. Thunderstorms in this environment began to become strong-to-severe; however, rainfall rates within the thunderstorms were the most notable feature, topping out over two inches per hour.…
Flash Flood · Jul 9, 2025. Convection across southern Pennsylvania began to develop in an unstable and moist environment ahead of a shortwave trough traversing the area during the afternoon and evening hours of July 9, 2025. Storms initially were sub-severe due to lower shear parameters and low-level lapse rates; however, increasing shear and lapse rates allowed for damaging wind potential within an environment of 700-900 J/kg of DCAPE. She…
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2021. The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred brought heavy rain and strong thunderstorms to central Pennsylvania, along with a handful of tornadoes.
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 York 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.