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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Atglen · FEMA

FEMA puts Atglen’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 73% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Atglen 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 (83%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 83%Earthquakes 7%Hurricanes 4%

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 73%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Pennsylvania · lower than 73% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
4
of 21 declared for Chester County
By hazard

What Atglen 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

83%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

7%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Ice storms Hail Lightning Wildfire 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 drought at 22% of Atglen’s expected losses. Drought does 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 Atglen’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Atglen, and Atglen’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 7% (higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Atglen sits
Atglen
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding83%Earthquakes7%Hurricanes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $683K a year in losses across Atglen: $368K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Atglen’s 1,313 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with West Sadsbury township (2,436 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 town’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 Atglen flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Atglen. 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

Atglen isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Chester County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Atglen

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

  1. 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida6 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
  2. 2011Tropical Storm Lee2 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
  3. 2011Hurricane Irene1 households applied for aid$352 aid approved
  4. 2003Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel and Related Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AtglenChester County only

Chester County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Atglen after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Atglen archive →
Next door

Atglen and its neighbors

Atglen is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

West Sadsbury Township: hazard risk B+West Sadsbury TownshipAtglen
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
West Sadsbury TownshipB+less damage than 73%river and rain flooding6
AtglenB+less damage than 73%river and rain flooding0

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 Atglen 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 ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Atglen

Is Atglen at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Atglen 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 (83%) and earthquakes (7%). 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 Atglen 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 Chester County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Atglen?

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

By FEMA money that reached Atglen, Remnants of Hurricane Ida (2021): 6 households applied for aid, $13K approved.

Is Atglen at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (83%), and Atglen’s rate for it is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Atglen.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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