Check out flood insurance need

Pennsylvania Acting Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield, reflecting on the impacts of Hurricane Agnes 50 years ago, urged property owners to prepare for hurricane season by considering flood insurance to protect their homes, businesses, and possessions.

For many Pennsylvanians, extreme weather, including flooding and damages caused by hurricanes and severe thunderstorms, can be a common occurrence throughout the summer months and into the fall.

In 1972, the effects of Hurricane Agnes were widespread, dramatically impacting homes, businesses and lives from the Caribbean to Canada. At the time, it was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damages.

In addition to the structural damages, the hurricane caused 128 deaths, 50 in the commonwealth alone; the most from any other state. Although much of the east coast was affected, Pennsylvania was impacted the most, with more than 3,000 businesses and 68,000 homes destroyed. Consequently, approximately 220,000 people were left without homes and 150 bridges were either impassable or destroyed.