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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Taylor · FEMA

FEMA puts Taylor’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Taylor gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, #509 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 89%Hurricanes 4%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

less than 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#509 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
B+#509 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1979 · $1K
Disasters paid out here
2
of 18 declared for Lackawanna County
By hazard

What Taylor 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

89%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Hail 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 10% of Taylor’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 Taylor’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Taylor, and Taylor’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Taylor sits
Taylor
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #509 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Hurricanes4%Everything else6%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Taylor has less expected damage per building than 51% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Taylor: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Taylor’s 6,294 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 Taylor flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Taylor, from FEMA’s records: 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 92% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 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: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims1979
19792026
1
paid claims since 1979
$1K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$1K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Taylor 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

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Taylor

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

  1. 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
  2. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan7 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in TaylorLackawanna 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 Taylor after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Taylor archive →
Next door

Taylor and its neighbors

Taylor has the lowest expected damage per building of the 4 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Scranton: hazard risk B−Moosic: hazard risk COld Forge: hazard risk B−ScrantonMoosicOld ForgeTaylor
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
TaylorB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding1
Old ForgeB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding21
ScrantonB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding746
MoosicCmore damage than 70%river and rain flooding15

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 Taylor 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 Taylor

Is Taylor at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Taylor has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #509 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). 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 Taylor flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Taylor since 1979, $1K in all, or 0.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 92% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Taylor 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 Taylor?

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

By FEMA money that reached Taylor, Tropical Depression Ivan (2004): 7 households applied for aid, $10K approved.

Is Taylor at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Taylor’s rate for it is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Taylor.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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