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Hills on 556 east of BeallsvillePhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Sunsbury Township · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Sunsbury Township than in 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sunsbury Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 86%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

less than 70%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Ohio · lower than 70% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
4
of 18 declared for Monroe County
By hazard

What Sunsbury 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

86%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Hurricanes Lightning top 2% Wildfire Cold waves Landslides Winter storms Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts lightning at 11% of Sunsbury Township’s expected losses. Lightning does little damage to buildings (0.6%), 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 Sunsbury Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sunsbury Township, and Sunsbury Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sunsbury Township sits
Sunsbury Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Tornadoes4%Hail3%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $418K a year in losses across Sunsbury Township: $309K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sunsbury Township’s 1,267 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Malaga township (1,038 residents) and Seneca township (444 residents) and Beallsville village (355 residents) and Jerusalem village (121 residents) and Miltonsburg village (42 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 Sunsbury Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

Sunsbury 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: Monroe County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sunsbury Township

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

  1. 2012Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds$2K to Sunsbury Township for repairs
  2. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$13K to Sunsbury Township for repairs
  3. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides$828 to Sunsbury Township for repairs
  4. 2003Severe Winter Storm and Record/near Record Snow$62K to Sunsbury Township for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Sunsbury TownshipMonroe County only

Monroe County has had 18 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 Sunsbury Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Sunsbury Township archive →
Next door

Sunsbury Township and its neighbors

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

Adams Township: not gradedCenter Township: hazard risk ASwitzerland Township: not gradedWashington Township: not gradedMalaga Township: hazard risk B+Adams TownshipCenter TownshipSwitzerland TownshipWashington TownshipMalaga TownshipSunsbury Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Center TownshipAless damage than 89%river and rain flooding5
Malaga TownshipB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding35
Sunsbury TownshipB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding0
Adams Township—683 residents; we grade 1,000+
Switzerland Township—286 residents; we grade 1,000+
Washington Township—551 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 Sunsbury 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 Sunsbury Township

Is Sunsbury Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sunsbury Township has lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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 Sunsbury 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 Monroe County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Sunsbury Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sunsbury 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 Sunsbury Township?

By FEMA money that reached Sunsbury Township, Severe Winter Storm and Record/near Record Snow (2003): $62K to Sunsbury Township for repairs.

Is Sunsbury Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Sunsbury Township’s rate for it is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sunsbury Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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