Lane Cabin · Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Beaver faces more hazard damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns, led by ice storms
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Beaver gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is ice storms (35%), then strong wind (23%). 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 Beaver faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Ice storms
Strong wind
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
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 Beaver’s grade
Ice storms are 35% of the building damage FEMA expects in Beaver, and Beaver’s rate of ice storms damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 23%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Beaver’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Beaver: $787K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Beaver flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Beaver. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Beaver isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Beaver County.The storms Beaver remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Beaver County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Beaver itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Beaver County has had 18 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.
Also 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Beaver County, 2017–2026.
Get ready for what Beaver faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Beaver
Is Beaver at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Beaver has higher expected damage per building than 89% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is ice storms (35%) and strong wind (23%). 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 Beaver 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 Beaver County, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Beaver?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Beaver’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Beaver at risk from ice storms?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (35%), and Beaver’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Beaver.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Beaver’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.