Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Tionesta
Tionesta isn’t graded for hazard risk: Tionesta has 323 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1978.
What Tionesta 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 Tionesta flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Tionesta, from FEMA’s records.
Tionesta isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Forest County.The storms Tionesta remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Forest County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Tionesta itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19781 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Forest County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Tionesta after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Tionesta archive →Get ready for what Tionesta 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 Tionesta
Does Tionesta flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Tionesta since 1978, $202 in all.
Is Tionesta 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 Forest County, 3% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Tionesta?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Tionesta’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Tionesta.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Tionesta’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.