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Jessup, paPhoto: Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Jessup · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Jessup faces more hazard damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jessup gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, #875 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1985.

River and rain flooding 93%Hurricanes 3%Tornadoes 2%

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

more than 65%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#875 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
C+#875 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · higher than 65% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
93% of expected building damage
Flood claims
16
paid since 1985 · $74K
Disasters paid out here
3
of 18 declared for Lackawanna County
By hazard

What Jessup 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

93%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Hail Winter storms Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Jessup’s grade

River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Jessup, and Jessup’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Jessup sits
Jessup
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ #875 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Jessup’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding93%Everything else7%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Jessup has more expected damage per building than 84% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Jessup: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Jessup’s 4,520 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Jessup flood? Sometimes: 16 flood claims since 1985

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Jessup, from FEMA’s records: 7.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1985: 3 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 7 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 3 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 2 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198519962006
19852026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Gloria3 claims · $15K
16
paid claims since 1985
$74K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$5K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Jessup isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Lackawanna County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Jessup

Disasters that paid out in Jessup itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Jessup), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides15 households applied for aid$27K aid approved3 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan10 households applied for aid$22K aid approved
  3. 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in JessupLackawanna County only

Lackawanna County has had 18 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Jessup after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Jessup archive →
Next door

Jessup and its neighbors

Jessup is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Blakely: hazard risk C−Archbald: hazard risk C+Olyphant: hazard risk C−Jefferson Township: hazard risk ABlakelyArchbaldOlyphantJefferson TownshipJessup
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Jefferson TownshipAless damage than 88%river and rain flooding—
ArchbaldC+more damage than 56%river and rain flooding32
JessupC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding16
OlyphantC−more damage than 81%river and rain flooding68
BlakelyC−more damage than 81%river and rain flooding11

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Jessup faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Jessup

Is Jessup at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jessup has higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #875 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). 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 Jessup flood?

Flood insurance has paid 16 claims in Jessup since 1985, $74K in all, or 7.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Gloria (3).

Is Jessup 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 Lackawanna County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Jessup?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Jessup’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 Jessup?

By FEMA money that reached Jessup, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2006): 15 households applied for aid, $27K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Gloria: 3 paid, $15K.

Is Jessup at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Jessup’s rate for it is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Jessup.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Jessup’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.