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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Avondale · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Avondale as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Avondale gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 43 claims here since 1989.

River and rain flooding 89%Earthquakes 4%Hurricanes 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 50%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 50% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
43
paid since 1989 · $3.5M
Flooded more than once
12
properties · 2 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
4
of 21 declared for Chester County
By hazard

What Avondale 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

89%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes 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

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 Avondale’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Avondale, and Avondale’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Avondale sits
Avondale
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Earthquakes4%Hurricanes3%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $555K a year in losses across Avondale: $452K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021, FEMA took 43 aid registrations from Avondale addresses (the town has 425 homes).
Shared tract.All of Avondale’s 1,274 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Avondale flood? Sometimes: 43 flood claims since 1989

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Avondale, from FEMA’s records: 101.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1989: 2 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 2 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 4 claims2000: 1 claim2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 7 claims2004: 6 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 4 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 1 claim2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 7 claims2021: 5 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 3 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200320042020
19892026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Isaias5 claims · $268K
  • Hurricane Ida5 claims · $636K
  • Hurricane Irene4 claims · $455K
43
paid claims since 1989
$3.5M
paid to owners
12
homes flooded more than once
$82K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (2)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Avondale 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 Avondale

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

  1. 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida43 households applied for aid$50K aid approved5 flood claims paid for it, $636K
  2. 2011Hurricane Irene16 households applied for aid$26K aid approved4 flood claims paid for it, $455K
  3. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan9 households applied for aid$48K aid approved6 flood claims paid that year
  4. 2003Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel and Related Severe Storms and Flooding40 households applied for aid$254K aid approved7 flood claims paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AvondaleChester 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 Avondale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Avondale archive →
Next door

Avondale and its neighbors

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

London Grove Township: hazard risk BNew Garden Township: hazard risk ALondon Grove TownshipNew Garden TownshipAvondale
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
New Garden TownshipAless damage than 88%river and rain flooding4
London Grove TownshipBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding3
AvondaleB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding43

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 Avondale 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 Avondale

Is Avondale at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Avondale has lower expected damage per building than 50% 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.

Does Avondale flood?

Flood insurance has paid 43 claims in Avondale since 1989, $3.5M in all, or 101.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 12 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Isaias (5).

Is Avondale 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 Avondale?

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

By FEMA money that reached Avondale, Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel and Related Severe Storms and Flooding (2003): 40 households applied for aid, $254K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Isaias: 5 paid, $268K.

Is Avondale at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Avondale’s rate for it is higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Avondale.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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