Photo: Marshallstack380 · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Mountain Top
Mountain Top isn’t graded for hazard risk: Mountain Top is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 35 claims here since 1979.
What Mountain Top 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.
Does Mountain Top flood? Sometimes: 35 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mountain Top, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene5 claims · $115K
- Tropical Storm Ivan3 claims · $72K
- Hurricane Ida2 claims · $109K
Mountain Top isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Luzerne County.The storms Mountain Top remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Luzerne County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Mountain Top itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 200610 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Luzerne County
- 20119 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Luzerne County
- 19963 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Luzerne County
Luzerne County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Mountain Top after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mountain Top archive →Mountain Top 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wright Township | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 23 |
| Rice Township | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
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 Mountain Top 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 Mountain Top
Does Mountain Top flood?
Flood insurance has paid 35 claims in Mountain Top since 1979, $620K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (5).
Is Mountain Top 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 Luzerne County, 53% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Mountain Top?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mountain Top’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 Mountain Top?
By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 5 paid, $115K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mountain Top.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mountain Top’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.