Photo: Nyttend · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Pemberville faces more hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pemberville gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 35 claims here since 1979.
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
What stands out about Pemberville’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Pemberville 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
Tornadoes
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.
What’s behind Pemberville’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pemberville, and Pemberville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Pemberville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $739K a year in losses across Pemberville: $677K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pemberville flood? Sometimes: 35 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pemberville, from FEMA’s records: 57.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 93% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Pemberville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Wood County.The storms Pemberville remembers
None of the 7 disasters declared for Wood County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pemberville itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20086 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20136 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20266 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Wood County has had 7 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Pemberville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pemberville archive →Get ready for what Pemberville faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Pemberville
Is Pemberville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pemberville has higher expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and tornadoes (7%). 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.
Does Pemberville flood?
Flood insurance has paid 35 claims in Pemberville since 1979, $395K in all, or 57.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 93% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 7 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Pemberville 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 Wood County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pemberville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pemberville’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Pemberville at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Pemberville’s rate for it is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pemberville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pemberville’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.