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Moxahala Creek valley in Bearfield TownshipPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bearfield Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Bearfield Township faces more hazard damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bearfield Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 89%Tornadoes 4%Hail 3%

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

more than 61%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Ohio · higher than 61% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
5
of 16 declared for Perry County
By hazard

What Bearfield 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

89%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Ice storms Strong wind Earthquakes Winter storms Landslides Hurricanes Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Bearfield Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bearfield Township, and Bearfield Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bearfield Township sits
Bearfield Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Tornadoes4%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $373K a year in losses across Bearfield Township: $324K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bearfield Township’s 1,465 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Pleasant township (842 residents) and Corning village (488 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 Bearfield Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bearfield 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

Bearfield 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: Perry County.
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bearfield Township

Disasters that paid out in Bearfield Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Bearfield Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2019Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides$17K to Bearfield Township for repairs
  2. 2018Severe Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides$14K to Bearfield Township for repairs
  3. 2004Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides$93K to Bearfield Township for repairs
  4. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides$7K to Bearfield Township for repairs
  5. 2003Severe Winter Storm and Record/near Record Snow$2K to Bearfield Township for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Bearfield TownshipPerry County only

Perry County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Bearfield Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bearfield Township archive →
Next door

Bearfield Township and its neighbors

Bearfield Township is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Pike Township: hazard risk BPleasant Township: not gradedDeerfield Township: not gradedHarrison Township: hazard risk CMonroe Township: hazard risk C+York Township: not gradedPike TownshipPleasant TownshipDeerfield TownshipHarrison TownshipMonroe TownshipYork TownshipBearfield Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Pike TownshipBless damage than 63%river and rain flooding16
Monroe TownshipC+more damage than 61%river and rain flooding—
Bearfield TownshipC+more damage than 61%river and rain flooding0
Harrison TownshipCmore damage than 68%river and rain flooding16
Pleasant Township—704 residents; we grade 1,000+
Deerfield Township—567 residents; we grade 1,000+
York Township—565 residents; we grade 1,000+

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 Bearfield 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 ↗
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 Bearfield Township

Is Bearfield Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bearfield Township has higher expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). 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 Bearfield 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 Perry County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Bearfield Township?

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

What was the biggest storm in Bearfield Township?

By FEMA money that reached Bearfield Township, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2004): $93K to Bearfield Township for repairs.

Is Bearfield Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Bearfield Township’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bearfield Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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