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A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Mount Oliver · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Mount Oliver than in 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Oliver gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, #52 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.

River and rain flooding 88%Earthquakes 6%Tornadoes 4%

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 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#52 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
A+#52 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 15 declared for Allegheny County
By hazard

What Mount Oliver 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

88%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Hurricanes Winter storms Hail Ice storms Lightning Wildfire 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 22% of Mount Oliver’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 Mount Oliver’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mount Oliver, and Mount Oliver’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 6% (lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Mount Oliver sits
Mount Oliver
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ #52 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Earthquakes6%Tornadoes4%Everything else3%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Mount Oliver has less expected damage per building than 95% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $398K a year in losses across Mount Oliver: $267K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mount Oliver’s 3,394 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 Mount Oliver flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mount Oliver. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mount Oliver 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.
Disasters

The storms Mount Oliver remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Allegheny County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Mount Oliver itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Mount OliverAllegheny County only

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Mount Oliver 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 ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Mount Oliver

Is Mount Oliver at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Oliver has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #52 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%) and earthquakes (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.

Is Mount Oliver 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 Mount Oliver?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mount Oliver’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Mount Oliver at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Mount Oliver’s rate for it is lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mount Oliver.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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