Photo: Nyttend · Public domainFEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Braddock Hills than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Braddock Hills gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1978.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Braddock Hills faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Braddock Hills’ grade
River and rain flooding is 94% of the building damage FEMA expects in Braddock Hills, and Braddock Hills’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
A lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Braddock Hills’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $306K a year in losses across Braddock Hills: $243K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Braddock Hills flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Braddock Hills, from FEMA’s records: 3.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 52% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Braddock Hills isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Allegheny County.The storms Braddock Hills remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Allegheny County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Braddock Hills itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19781 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20091 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20111 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Allegheny County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Braddock Hills after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Braddock Hills archive →Braddock Hills and its neighbors
Braddock Hills is 4th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Hills | A+less damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Edgewood | A+less damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Wilkinsburg | Aless damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Braddock Hills | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Swissvale | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | — |
| North Braddock | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | — |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Braddock Hills faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Braddock Hills
Is Braddock Hills at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Braddock Hills has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Braddock Hills flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Braddock Hills since 1978, $42K in all, or 3.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 52% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Braddock Hills in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Allegheny County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Braddock Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Braddock Hills’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Braddock Hills at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (94%), and Braddock Hills’ rate for it is lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Braddock Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Braddock Hills’ residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.