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Patton St. Mary's RCCPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Patton · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Patton faces less hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Patton gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 91%Tornadoes 4%Hurricanes 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 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Pennsylvania · lower than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
26
paid since 1979 · $180K
Flooded more than once
3
properties
Flood claims per home
30 per 1,000
more than 88% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Patton’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 72% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Remembers 19798 flood claims were paid for 1979 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Patton 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

91%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hurricanes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Wildfire Ice storms Landslides Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves 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 Patton’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Patton, and Patton’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Patton sits
Patton
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Tornadoes4%Hurricanes3%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $528K a year in losses across Patton: $463K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Patton’s 1,728 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Clearfield township (1,604 residents) and Hastings borough (1,213 residents) and Elder township (1,028 residents) and Chest township (457 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 Patton flood? Sometimes: 26 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Patton, from FEMA’s records: 29.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 88% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 8 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 1 claim1982: 1 claim1983: 1 claim1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 6 claims1997: 6 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197919961997
19792026
26
paid claims since 1979
$180K
paid to owners
3
homes flooded more than once
$7K
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

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

Insurance rates: Cambria County.
Disasters

The storms Patton remembers

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

  1. 19798 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 19966 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes, declared for Cambria County
  3. 19976 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PattonCambria County only

Cambria County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Patton archive →
Next door

Patton and its neighbors

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

East Carroll Township: hazard risk A+Clearfield Township: hazard risk B+Chest Township: not gradedElder Township: hazard risk B+East Carroll TownshipClearfield TownshipChest TownshipElder TownshipPatton
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
East Carroll TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding1
Clearfield TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding—
Elder TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding—
PattonB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding26
Chest Township—506 residents; we grade 1,000+

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 Patton 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 Patton

Is Patton at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Patton has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). 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 Patton flood?

Flood insurance has paid 26 claims in Patton since 1979, $180K in all, or 29.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 88% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Patton 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 Cambria County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Patton?

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

Is Patton at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Patton’s rate for it is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Patton.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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