Photo: UCBorough · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Union City faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Union City gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns, #809 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1978.
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
What Union City 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.
What’s behind Union City’s grade
River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Union City, and Union City’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #809 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Union City’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Union City has more expected damage per building than 78% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $941K a year in losses across Union City: $823K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Union City flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Union City, from FEMA’s records: 5.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 62% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Union City isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Erie County.The storms Union City remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Erie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Union City itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20022 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20222 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19781 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Erie County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Union City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Union City archive →Get ready for what Union City 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 Union City
Is Union City at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Union City has higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #809 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). 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 Union City flood?
Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Union City since 1978, $40K in all, or 5.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 62% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Union City 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 Erie County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Union City?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Union City’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Union City at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Union City’s rate for it is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Union City.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Union City’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.