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AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Penn Township · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Penn Township than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Penn Township gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%), then tornadoes (11%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 76%Tornadoes 11%Hail 8%

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

less than 90%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A
in Michigan · lower than 90% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
76% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 6 declared for Cass County
By hazard

What Penn Township 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

76%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

11%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts

Hail

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Lightning Hurricanes Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 11% of Penn Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Penn Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Penn Township, and Penn Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 11% (higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Penn Township sits
Penn Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Penn Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding76%Tornadoes11%Hail8%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $593K a year in losses across Penn Township: $442K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Penn Township’s 1,755 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Calvin township (1,993 residents) and Vandalia village (318 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Penn Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Penn Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Penn Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Cass County.
Disasters

The storms Penn Township remembers

None of the 6 disasters declared for Cass County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Penn Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Penn TownshipCass County only

Cass County has had 6 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Next door

Penn Township and its neighbors

Penn Township is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Newberg Township: hazard risk ALaGrange Township: hazard risk A+Volinia Township: hazard risk ACalvin Township: hazard risk ANewberg TownshipLaGrange TownshipVolinia TownshipCalvin TownshipPenn Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
LaGrange TownshipA+less damage than 96%river and rain flooding1
Newberg TownshipAless damage than 95%river and rain flooding—
Calvin TownshipAless damage than 90%river and rain flooding—
Penn TownshipAless damage than 90%river and rain flooding0
Volinia TownshipAless damage than 87%river and rain flooding—

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Penn Township faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hail
  • Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
  • Stay away from windows while it falls.
  • Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Penn Township

Is Penn Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Penn Township has lower expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%) and tornadoes (11%). 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.

Is Penn Township 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 Cass County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Penn Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Penn Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Penn Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Penn Township’s rate for it is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Penn Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Penn Township’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.