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Elk County, PA flood insurance claims history
322 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Elk County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $8.3M on them. The worst year was 2014 with 79 claims. Elk County ranks #49 of 67 in Pennsylvania by claim count.
At a glance
- 17% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- Flood claims were filed in 6 of the last 10 years.
- More flood claims than 27% of the 67 Pennsylvania counties with any claims on file — and more than 4 of its 6 neighbors.
- ZIP 15853 has the most claims in the county (218, 68%). Check your ZIP →
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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid — and which named floods those claims came from, which a county-wide list cannot tell you. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere. Have a street address? Run the printable flood check for it →
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Flood claims by year
Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.
Biggest flood events in Elk County
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 54 | $1.8M | $34K | 1996 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan | 19 | $176K | $9K | 2004 |
| Flooding (FEMA general label) | 3 | $622 | $207 | 1984 |
| Hurricane Debby | 2 | $51K | $26K | 2024 |
| Not a named storm | 1 | $0 | $0 | 1979 |
25% of claims here fall under these 5 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.
Flood zones in Elk County: which ones the claims came from
Elk County is not in one flood zone. FEMA draws zones parcel by parcel, so one street can be Zone AE and the next Zone X — there is no single zone for a whole county. What the claim record can tell you is which zones buildings were actually rated in when they flooded, and what each zone has cost here.
The most common zone on Elk County claims is Zone A1–A30 — 105 of 314 claims with a zone on file (33%). 83% were in a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area, where a federally backed mortgage makes flood insurance mandatory. Open any zone below for what it means and whether it requires insurance.
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Share | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone A1–A30 · high risk, insurance required | 105 | 33% | $3.1M | $30K |
| Zone AE · high risk, insurance required | 95 | 30% | $3.4M | $35K |
| Zone A · high risk, insurance required | 61 | 19% | $1.5M | $24K |
| Zone X · moderate / low risk | 25 | 8% | $191K | $8K |
| Zone B · moderate / low risk | 16 | 5% | $59K | $4K |
| Zone C · moderate / low risk | 12 | 4% | $109K | $9K |
The zone is the one used to rate the policy when the claim was paid, not today’s map — FEMA remaps areas, so a building rated AE in 1995 may sit in a different zone now. AHB and AOB are older AH / AO variants; A1–A30 and V1–V30 are numbered zones from pre-2000 maps. 8 Elk County claims have no zone recorded and are left out of the shares above. Not sure what the letters mean? Flood zones explained →
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 181 | 56% |
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 110 | 34% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 17 | 5% |
| Other causes | 11 | 3% |
| Not recorded | 3 | 1% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in Elk County
13 ZIP codes in Elk County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Elk County.
| 15853 | 218 | $6.9M | 68% | 17 | 2019 |
| 15857 | 35 | $435K | 11% | 15 | 2026 |
| 15868 | 18 | $263K | 6% | 8 | 2024 |
| 15845 | 12 | $229K | 4% | 6 | 2019 |
| 15823 | 11 | $95K | 3% | 5 | 2018 |
| 15870 | 7 | $103K | 2% | 6 | 2024 |
| 15846 | 4 | $2K | 1% | 4 | 2018 |
| 15860 | 4 | $39K | 1% | 3 | 2014 |
| 15821 | 4 | $57K | 1% | 3 | 2026 |
| 15841 | 4 | $146K | 1% | 4 | 2014 |
| Not reported | 3 | $18K | 1% | 3 | 1985 |
| 16374 | 1 | $418 | 0% | 1 | 1978 |
| 15827 | 1 | $3K | 0% | 1 | 1989 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does Elk County flood?
May accounts for the most flood losses (82 claims, 25%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 58 | 18% |
| February | 5 | 2% |
| March | 3 | 1% |
| April | 2 | 1% |
| May | 82 | 25% |
| June | 70 | 22% |
| July | 15 | 5% |
| August | 18 | 6% |
| September | 28 | 9% |
| October | 2 | 1% |
| November | 3 | 1% |
| December | 36 | 11% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | $99K |
| 2024 | 3 | $89K |
| 2021 | 1 | $5K |
| 2019 | 8 | $171K |
| 2018 | 8 | $115K |
| 2017 | 1 | $4K |
| 2015 | 7 | $129K |
| 2014 | 79 | $4.1M |
| 2013 | 3 | $112K |
| 2010 | 36 | $701K |
| 2008 | 1 | $0 |
| 2007 | 1 | $0 |
| 2006 | 1 | $2K |
| 2004 | 22 | $178K |
| 2003 | 4 | $64K |
| 2001 | 1 | $0 |
| 1996 | 54 | $1.8M |
| 1995 | 2 | $2K |
| 1994 | 5 | $4K |
| 1992 | 1 | $1K |
| 1989 | 44 | $660K |
| 1985 | 2 | $12K |
| 1984 | 4 | $622 |
| 1983 | 1 | $0 |
| 1982 | 2 | $357 |
| 1981 | 18 | $34K |
| 1979 | 2 | $753 |
| 1978 | 5 | $3K |
Neighboring counties
Elk County borders 6 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk County (this page) | 322 | $8.3M | 17% |
| Clearfield County | 537 | $5.9M | 26% |
| Jefferson County | 373 | $7.7M | 36% |
| McKean County | 158 | $1.0M | 29% |
| Warren County | 126 | $1.1M | 24% |
| Cameron County | 73 | $532K | 33% |
| Forest County | 14 | $194K | 10% |
All 67 Pennsylvania counties → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in Elk County
- Has Elk County flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-07-06, and claims were filed in 6 of the last 10 years (27 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-08, so the newest events may not appear yet.
- What flood zone is Elk County in?
- There is no single answer — zones are drawn parcel by parcel, so one street can be Zone AE and the next Zone X. Across 314 Elk County claims with a zone on file, the most common was Zone A1–A30 (33%), and 83% were in a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. For one address, look it up on the free flood check or FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center; the zone breakdown above shows what each zone has cost here.
- Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
- Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 17% of Elk County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
- Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
- Why might the real number of floods be higher?
- Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.
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About these numbers
Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 42047, data as of 2026-09-08). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.