Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Edinboro’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Edinboro gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #174 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Edinboro 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 Edinboro’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Edinboro, and Edinboro’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 1%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
A #174 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Edinboro’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Edinboro has less expected damage per building than 83% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $984K a year in losses across Edinboro: $855K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Edinboro flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Edinboro. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Edinboro isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Erie County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Edinboro
Disasters that paid out in Edinboro itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Edinboro), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding Associated with Tropical Depression Frances10 households applied for aid$23K aid approved
Erie County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Edinboro after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Edinboro archive →Get ready for what Edinboro 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 Edinboro
Is Edinboro at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Edinboro has lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #174 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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.
Is Edinboro 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 Erie County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Edinboro?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Edinboro’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Edinboro?
By FEMA money that reached Edinboro, Severe Storms and Flooding Associated with Tropical Depression Frances (2004): 10 households applied for aid, $23K approved.
Is Edinboro at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Edinboro’s rate for it is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Edinboro.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Edinboro’s 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.