Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Wheeling Township than in 73% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wheeling Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 73% 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.
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 Wheeling 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
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 Wheeling Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wheeling Township, and Wheeling Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Wheeling Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $410K a year in losses across Wheeling Township: $320K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Wheeling Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wheeling Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Wheeling 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: Belmont County.The storms Wheeling Township remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Belmont County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Wheeling Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Belmont 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.
Wheeling Township and its neighbors
Wheeling Township is 4th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland Township | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Union Township | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Flushing Township | B+less damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Wheeling Township | B+less damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Colerain Township | C−more damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 88 |
| Short Creek Township | — | not graded yet | |
| Athens Township | — | 464 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.
Get ready for what Wheeling 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.
- 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 Wheeling Township
Is Wheeling Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wheeling Township has lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns: B+ 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 Wheeling 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 Belmont County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Wheeling Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wheeling Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Wheeling Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Wheeling Township’s rate for it is higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wheeling Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wheeling 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.