Photo: Peetlesnumber1 · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Elkins Park
Elkins Park isn’t graded for hazard risk: Elkins Park is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 133 claims here since 1978.
What Elkins Park 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
Earthquakes
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.
Does Elkins Park flood? Yes: 133 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Elkins Park, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee25 claims · $516K
- Hurricane Irene16 claims · $215K
- Tropical Storm Allison15 claims · $205K
Elkins Park isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Montgomery County.The storms Elkins Park remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for Montgomery County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Elkins Park itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 201142 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Montgomery County
- 200115 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Allison, declared for Montgomery County
- 201015 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms, declared for Montgomery County
Montgomery County has had 23 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 Elkins Park after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Elkins Park archive →Elkins Park and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abington Township | Aless damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 295 |
| Cheltenham Township | A−less damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 291 |
| Melrose Park | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| McKinley | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Wyncote | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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 Elkins Park 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Elkins Park
Does Elkins Park flood?
Flood insurance has paid 133 claims in Elkins Park since 1978, $1.6M in all. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (25).
Is Elkins Park 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 Montgomery County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Elkins Park?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Elkins Park’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 Elkins Park?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 25 paid, $516K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Elkins Park.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Elkins Park’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.