Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Baldwin Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Baldwin Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Baldwin Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baldwin Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1994.

River and rain flooding 91%Earthquakes 4%Tornadoes 2%

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 85%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A−
in Pennsylvania · lower than 85% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 1994 · $11K
Flood claims per home
3 per 1,000
more than 51% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Baldwin 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

91%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Tornadoes Strong wind Hurricanes Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Hail 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 cold waves at 14% of Baldwin 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 Baldwin Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Baldwin Township, and Baldwin Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Baldwin Township sits
Baldwin Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Earthquakes4%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $365K a year in losses across Baldwin Township: $252K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Baldwin Township’s 1,985 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 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 Baldwin Township flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1994

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Baldwin Township, from FEMA’s records: 3.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 51% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1994: 1 claim1995: 1 claim1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199419952018
19942026
3
paid claims since 1994
$11K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$4K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Baldwin 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: Allegheny County.
Disasters

The storms Baldwin Township remembers

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

  1. 19941 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms, declared for Allegheny County
  2. 19951 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 20181 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Baldwin TownshipAllegheny County only

Allegheny County has had 15 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Baldwin Township archive →
Next door

Baldwin Township and its neighbors

Baldwin Township is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Pittsburgh: hazard risk CCastle Shannon: hazard risk A−Mount Lebanon: hazard risk A+PittsburghCastle ShannonMount LebanonBaldwin Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Mount LebanonA+less damage than 98%river and rain flooding12
Baldwin TownshipA−less damage than 85%river and rain flooding3
Castle ShannonA−less damage than 82%river and rain flooding30
PittsburghCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding447

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 Baldwin 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 ↗
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 Baldwin Township

Is Baldwin Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baldwin Township has lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). 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 Baldwin Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Baldwin Township since 1994, $11K in all, or 3.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 51% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Baldwin 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 Allegheny County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Baldwin Township?

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

Is Baldwin Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Baldwin Township’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Baldwin Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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