Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Bethel Township than in 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bethel Township gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, #74 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%). 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 Bethel 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
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
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 Bethel Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bethel Township, and Bethel Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 8% (higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #74 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bethel Township’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bethel Township has less expected damage per building than 93% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Bethel Township: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bethel Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bethel Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bethel 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: Delaware County.The storms Bethel Township remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Delaware County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bethel Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Delaware County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Bethel Township and its neighbors
Bethel Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 4 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Township | A+less damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Concord Township | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Aston Township | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 35 |
| Upper Chichester Township | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 27 |
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.
Get ready for what Bethel 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Bethel Township
Is Bethel Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bethel Township has lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #74 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and hurricanes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bethel 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 Delaware County, 39% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bethel Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bethel Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Bethel Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Bethel Township’s rate for it is lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bethel Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bethel 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.