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Briar Creek, Pennsylvania borough hallPhoto: Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Briar Creek Township · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Briar Creek Township than in 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Briar Creek Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns, #964 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 2006.

River and rain flooding 94%Hurricanes 2%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

more than 79%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#964 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
C−#964 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · higher than 79% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
94% of expected building damage
Flood claims
9
paid since 2006 · $197K
Flooded more than once
3
properties
Flood claims per home
7 per 1,000
more than 67% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Briar Creek 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

94%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Wildfire Winter storms Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
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 Briar Creek Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 94% of the building damage FEMA expects in Briar Creek Township, and Briar Creek Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Briar Creek Township sits
Briar Creek Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #964 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding94%Everything else6%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Briar Creek Township has more expected damage per building than 93% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.8M a year in losses across Briar Creek Township: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Briar Creek Township’s 2,982 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Briar Creek borough (597 residents) and Foundryville CDP (260 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 Briar Creek Township flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 2006

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Briar Creek Township, from FEMA’s records: 6.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2006: 3 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 3 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 1 claim2026: 0 claims200620112018
20062026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Lee3 claims · $52K
9
paid claims since 2006
$197K
paid to owners
3
homes flooded more than once
$22K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Briar Creek 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: Columbia County.
Disasters

The storms Briar Creek Township remembers

None of the 16 disasters declared for Columbia County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Briar Creek Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20063 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides, declared for Columbia County
  2. 20113 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Columbia County
  3. 20182 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Columbia County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Briar Creek TownshipColumbia County only

Columbia County has had 16 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 Briar Creek Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Briar Creek Township archive →
Next door

Briar Creek Township and its neighbors

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

Fishing Creek Township: hazard risk C−Berwick: hazard risk CFoundryville: not gradedBriar Creek: not gradedSalem Township: hazard risk C+North Centre Township: hazard risk CFishing Creek TownshipBerwickFoundryvilleBriar CreekSalem TownshipNorth Centre TownshipBriar Creek Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Salem TownshipC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding47
North Centre TownshipCmore damage than 68%river and rain flooding2
BerwickCmore damage than 74%river and rain flooding24
Briar Creek TownshipC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding9
Fishing Creek TownshipC−more damage than 84%river and rain flooding100
Foundryville—360 residents; we grade 1,000+
Briar Creek—828 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 Briar Creek 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 Briar Creek Township

Is Briar Creek Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Briar Creek Township has higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #964 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). 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 Briar Creek Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Briar Creek Township since 2006, $197K in all, or 6.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (3).

Is Briar Creek 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 Columbia County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Briar Creek Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Briar Creek Township’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 Briar Creek Township?

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 3 paid, $52K.

Is Briar Creek Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (94%), and Briar Creek Township’s rate for it is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Briar Creek Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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