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PA 435 nb and PA 690 wb in Moscow, Aug 2022Photo: 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 4.0
AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Moscow · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Moscow than in 89% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moscow gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 2004.

River and rain flooding 86%Hurricanes 6%Tornadoes 3%

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

less than 89%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A
in Pennsylvania · lower than 89% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
14
paid since 2004 · $81K
Flooded more than once
3
properties
Disasters paid out here
4
of 18 declared for Lackawanna County
By hazard

What Moscow 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

86%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 65% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Hail Wildfire Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 10% of Moscow’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Moscow’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Moscow, and Moscow’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 6% (higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Moscow sits
Moscow
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Hurricanes6%Tornadoes3%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $530K a year in losses across Moscow: $426K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Moscow’s 2,039 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Roaring Brook township (2,273 residents) and Elmhurst township (842 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Moscow flood? Sometimes: 14 flood claims since 2004

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Moscow, from FEMA’s records: 17.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 3 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 7 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 1 claim2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200420062010
20042026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Lee1 claim · $11K
  • The December nor’easter1 claim · $2K
  • Tropical Storm Ivan1 claim · $5K
14
paid claims since 2004
$81K
paid to owners
3
homes flooded more than once
$6K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Moscow 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

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Moscow

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

  1. 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides33 households applied for aid$68K aid approved3 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
  3. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan52 households applied for aid$109K aid approved1 flood claim paid for it, $5K
  4. 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$15K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MoscowLackawanna 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 Moscow after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Moscow archive →
Next door

Moscow and its neighbors

Moscow is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Madison Township: hazard risk A+Roaring Brook Township: hazard risk ASpring Brook Township: hazard risk B+Covington Township: hazard risk A+Madison TownshipRoaring Brook TownshipSpring Brook TownshipCovington TownshipMoscow
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Madison TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding44
Covington TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding4
Roaring Brook TownshipAless damage than 89%river and rain flooding2
MoscowAless damage than 89%river and rain flooding14
Spring Brook TownshipB+less damage than 74%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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Moscow 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
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 Moscow

Is Moscow at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moscow has lower expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (6%). 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 Moscow flood?

Flood insurance has paid 14 claims in Moscow since 2004, $81K in all, or 17.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (1).

Is Moscow 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 Moscow?

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

By FEMA money that reached Moscow, Tropical Depression Ivan (2004): 52 households applied for aid, $109K approved. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 1 paid, $11K.

Is Moscow at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Moscow’s rate for it is lower than 65% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Moscow.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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