Lancaster, PA
Lancaster County in Pennsylvania has 11 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1972–2012, most recently Hurricane Sandy on Oct 29, 2012 (DR-3356). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #154 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 31 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $877,582 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Lancaster County
The 11 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Lancaster County, PA (1972–2012). Total declarations on record: 11.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy | DR-3356 |
| Sep 12, 2011 | Flood | Tropical Storm Lee | DR-4030 |
| Sep 8, 2011 | Flood | Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee | DR-3340 |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina | DR-3235 |
| Sep 19, 2004 | Hurricane | Tropical Depression Ivan | DR-1557 |
| Sep 18, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | DR-1294 |
| Jan 21, 1996 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-1093 |
| Oct 20, 1976 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-523 |
| Sep 26, 1975 | Flood | Severe Storms, Heavy Rains & Flooding | DR-485 |
| Jul 17, 1973 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-400 |
| Jun 23, 1972 | Flood | Tropical Storm Agnes | DR-340 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 21 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Pennsylvania
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schuylkill | B | 21 | 34 | 11 |
| Northampton | B | 22 | 20 | 12 |
| Chester | B | 22 | 48 | 13 |
| Delaware | B | 22 | 79 | 13 |
| Philadelphia | B | 22 | 74 | 13 |
| Huntingdon | A | 20 | 11 | 10 |
More Counties in Pennsylvania
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Lancaster County, PA have?
Lancaster County, PA has 11 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1972–2012). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Sandy (declared Oct 29, 2012, DR-3356); Tropical Storm Lee (declared Sep 12, 2011, DR-4030); Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee (declared Sep 8, 2011, DR-3340); Hurricane Katrina (declared Sep 10, 2005, DR-3235); Tropical Depression Ivan (declared Sep 19, 2004, DR-1557). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Lancaster County, PA?
Lancaster County is graded B (composite score 21/100, moderate risk). It ranks #154 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Lancaster County?
31 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Lancaster County, PA, totaling $877,582 in payouts. The average claim is $28,309. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Lancaster County, PA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Lancaster County was Hurricane Sandy on Oct 29, 2012 (DR-3356). The county has 11 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1972–2012.
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations dataset. The detail above comes directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.