Glen Mawr is a tiny community of 130 people and a smattering of homes next to Muncy Creek in Lycoming County.

On Monday, a flash flood led to mandatory evacuation orders, as waters from the creek rose almost seven feet in 45 minutes, according to Alan Little, fire chief of Picture Rocks Volunteer Fire Company.

“We were all trapped in that little town surrounded by water, so we just had to go to higher ground until the water receded,” he said.

Some people weren’t caught off-guard by the flooding, since it is a perennial hazard in the county, as well as a major issue across Pennsylvania, according to Stacey Folk, Lycoming County’s emergency management coordinator.

But to many leaders, flooding doesn’t look the way it used to — not in Lycoming, and not in other parts of the country suffering from more aggressive inland flooding due to the effects of climate change.

“We are seeing an increase in flooding caused by these isolated thunderstorms that are dumping six, seven, sometimes 12 inches of rain in just a few hours. And then we’re seeing our streams and rivers and things raised drastically in a very short period of time, similar to what just happened in Texas,” said Kelsey Green, the county’s hazard reduction planner.

The Guadalupe River in Texas rose 20 feet in 90 minutes and took at least 134 lives during a flash flood on July 4. The tragedy looms large over a slew of flash floods that have hit Pennsylvania this month.

The deadly flooding raised questions about how the Trump administration’s cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) led to decreased response times in the wake of the Texas Hill Country floods.

Those questions have local government officials, like Green, and elected leaders concerned about keeping their communities as safe as possible during natural disasters.

At the same time, Pennsylvania lawmakers say heightened concern about flooding could generate more political will to accelerate efforts to improve and raise awareness about flood insurance policies for homeowners in at-risk areas around the state.

Rep. Perry Warren (D-Bucks) introduced his bill to require disclosure of past flood events near the properties on sale, as well as disclosure about whether the owner of the property is required to obtain and maintain flood insurance, just four days after the Texas floods.

“When that tragic flood happened in Texas, we said, let’s see what’s ready to go,” Warren said.

Warren hopes to raise awareness about flood insurance with this bill, which is modelled after a 2024 New Jersey law to enhance transparency around flood risks. Flood insurance requires a separate policy from homeowners insurance, and property owners often realize the policies are separate only after their home is flooded, Warren said.

He is well acquainted with growing flood risks around the state, as his district suffered a devastating flash flood in 2023 when a wall of water swept away vehicles and killed seven people in Hughes Creek, Upper Mayfield Twp.

“The tragic flood event that caused the deaths of those seven people was just so localized,” he said. “In one place, it’s fine, and a couple hundred yards away, it’s fatal.”

Warren and Sen. Steven Santarsiero (D-Bucks) launched the Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed enabling legislation in 2023 to make recommendations about laws and policy to strengthen flood insurance.

The task force recommended lawmakers introduce bills allowing flood insurance premium deductions from state income taxes, as well as tax credits for homeowner spending on flood mitigation, according to a July 2024 final report. Members also recommended requiring earlier disclosures from homesellers about property flood risks and requiring insurance providers include flood risk in their continuing education curricula.

The disclosure bill is now being considered in the House, and was last re-committed from the Insurance Committee to the Rules Committee.

Lawmakers have also introduced other recent natural disaster-related legislations, such as Rep. Emily Kinkead’s (D, Allegheny County) bill to protect Pennsylvanians from landslides, which can be caused by flooding and heavy rainfall.

According to her, improvements to mitigate landslide, erosion and flooding risks would likely result in lower insurance costs.

Flooding in focus: Lycoming County

Heavy rain led to flooding and evacuations across Lycoming and Luzerne counties this week. Glen Mawr evacuated 25 people at 2:30 a.m., who were able to return to their homes less than four hours later.

No injuries or deaths have been reported, and it is still too early to assess the damage from the flooding, said Folk, the county’s emergency management coordinator.

Flooding is a major issue in the county because a good portion of its residential property was built in flood plains on low-lying plots of land adjacent to rivers, streams and creeks, said Green, the county’s hazard reduction planner.

Glen Mawr is in a special flood hazard area in the southern part of the county, meaning it lies below the 100-year flood level, an inundation whose odds stand at 1% each year, according to FEMA’s flood map service.

First Street, a non-profit tracking climate risks, calculates a “major risk of flooding” around Glen Mawr exacerbated by climate change, which would affect a third of all properties in the town over the next three decades.

Heavy rains, which cause inland surges, are lasting longer and growing more intense, especially in the northeast, as global warming progresses. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) now estimates 90% of natural disasters in the U.S. involve flooding.

As a result, Lycoming has boasted some of the highest national flood insurance claims in the state over the last 40 years, and had the third-largest share filed among all counties in 2024, just behind Allegheny and Washington counties.

Since 1980, NFIP has spent more than $57 million to pay roughly 3,000 claims in Lycoming, which generally spike during years with hurricane events, according to NFIP claims data.

Most lenders require flood insurance for homes located in the one percent flood plain or the floodway. Additionally, homeowners with government-backed mortgages in special flood hazard areas, like Glen Mawr, are required to purchase flood insurance, which can be done through the NFIP or private insurers.

Congress is required to periodically renew the NFIP and President Donald Trump signed legislation in March that extends the program until Sept. 30. If Congress allows NFIP to lapse, as has happened four times in the past, it could lead to the cancelation or delay of thousands of residential real estate sales, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Green said people who live in Lycoming County generally use NFIP insurance. The program has consistent rates and cannot cancel insurance when policyholders experience a flood, she noted, whereas private insurers often cancel policies or drastically raise rates after a flood event.

NFIP recorded 718 policyholders in the county, more than the state average of 491, according to the latest data on the cost of insurance through NFIP for single family homes in 2023. This insurance from NFIP costs an average of $1091 a year in Lycoming, while the state average through the program was $940 in 2023.

As the cost of flood insurance increases, Green has watched people on a fixed income, the elderly and people living on retirement savings struggle to afford flood insurance.

“Flood insurance can be completely detrimental to them staying in their home that they’ve lived in, you know, sometimes their whole lives,” she said.

The aftermath of flooding continues to be a major challenge for the county, which is still recovering from last August’s Hurricane Debby. Like this week’s flooding in Glen Mawr, Hurricane Debby hit isolated areas hard, destroying a fire hall and displacing homeowners who are still waiting to move back a year later, according to Green.

Flood recovery for residential properties without insurance takes an average of two years, and often takes longer for those balancing recovery on top of full-time work, she said. For those with insurance, the process is still lengthy, but the financial support provides a leg up.

Recovery includes mucking out flooded basements, replacing utilities, removing debris and mold remediation, along with other repairs that can require special permitting for properties in flood plains.

Green agrees that flood disasters in other states, as well as recent ones in Pennsylvania, are building more political will from local and state politicians to invest in flood mitigation.

Lycoming County is already seeing some positive movement. After years of ongoing talks, Green told Pennlive the county would begin efforts to recertify the Williamsport area levee, Pennsylvania’s second largest flood control system. FEMA first discovered issues with the levee in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. The project kicked off the day after Glen Mawr evacuated the town for flooding.