Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Penfield Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Penfield 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 (75%), then tornadoes (12%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Penfield 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
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 Penfield Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Penfield Township, and Penfield Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 12% (higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts).
A lower expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Penfield Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $449K a year in losses across Penfield Township: $345K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Penfield Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Penfield Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Penfield 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: Lorain County.The storms Penfield Township remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Lorain County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Penfield Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Lorain County has had 15 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.
Penfield Township and its neighbors
Penfield Township is 2nd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington Township | A+less damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Penfield Township | Aless damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| LaGrange Township | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Litchfield Township | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Spencer Township | A−less damage than 76% | 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.
Get ready for what Penfield 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.
- 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 Penfield Township
Is Penfield Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Penfield 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 (75%) and tornadoes (12%). 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 Penfield 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 Lorain County, 30% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Penfield Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Penfield Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Penfield Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Penfield Township’s rate for it is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Penfield Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Penfield 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.