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A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Allegheny Township · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Allegheny Township than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Allegheny Township gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #36 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 82%Tornadoes 6%Hurricanes 6%

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

among the lowestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#36 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
A+#36 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · among the lowest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 15 declared for Cambria County
By hazard

What Allegheny 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

82%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

6%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts

Hurricanes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Strong wind Wildfire Ice storms Lightning Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 9% of Allegheny Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Allegheny Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Allegheny Township, and Allegheny Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 6% (lower than 53% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Allegheny Township sits
Allegheny Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ #36 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Tornadoes6%Hurricanes6%Everything else6%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Allegheny Township has less expected damage per building than 97% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $444K a year in losses across Allegheny Township: $342K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Allegheny Township’s 2,815 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Loretto borough (1,196 residents) and Chest Springs borough (140 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 Allegheny Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

Allegheny 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: Cambria County.
Disasters

The storms Allegheny Township remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Cambria County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Allegheny Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Allegheny TownshipCambria County only

Cambria County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Next door

Allegheny Township and its neighbors

Allegheny Township is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

East Carroll Township: hazard risk A+Cambria Township: hazard risk A+Clearfield Township: hazard risk B+Gallitzin Township: not gradedChest Springs: not gradedMunster Township: not gradedCresson Township: hazard risk A+East Carroll TownshipCambria TownshipClearfield TownshipGallitzin TownshipChest SpringsMunster TownshipCresson TownshipAllegheny Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Cambria TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding5
Cresson TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding2
East Carroll TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding1
Allegheny TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding0
Clearfield TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding—
Gallitzin Township—not graded yet
Chest Springs—99 residents; we grade 1,000+
Munster Township—698 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 Allegheny 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 ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
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 Allegheny Township

Is Allegheny Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Allegheny Township has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #36 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) and tornadoes (6%). 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 Allegheny 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 Cambria County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Allegheny Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Allegheny Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Allegheny Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Allegheny Township’s rate for it is lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Allegheny Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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