Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMore hazard damage per building is expected in Broad Top Township than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Broad Top Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 28 claims here since 1983.
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 Broad Top 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
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 Broad Top Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Broad Top Township, and Broad Top Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 5% (higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts).
C− higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Broad Top Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $815K a year in losses across Broad Top Township: $754K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Broad Top Township flood? Sometimes: 28 flood claims since 1983
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Broad Top Township, from FEMA’s records: 37.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 90% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Tropical Storm Ivan7 claims · $120K
Broad Top 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: Bedford County.The storms Broad Top Township remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Bedford County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Broad Top Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 199616 flood claims paidThe year of Flooding, Severe Storms, declared for Bedford County
- 20049 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Bedford County
- 19832 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Bedford County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Broad Top Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Broad Top Township archive →Broad Top Township and its neighbors
Broad Top Township is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Township | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | — |
| East Providence Township | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Broad Top Township | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 28 |
| West Providence Township | C−more damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | 87 |
| Hopewell Township | Dmore damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Hopewell | — | 162 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Wells Township | — | 473 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Riddlesburg | — | 152 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Carbon Township | — | 220 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Hopewell Township | — | 495 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.
Get ready for what Broad Top 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.
- 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 Broad Top Township
Is Broad Top Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Broad Top Township has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%) and hurricanes (5%). 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 Broad Top Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 28 claims in Broad Top Township since 1983, $321K in all, or 37.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 90% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 4 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (7).
Is Broad Top 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 Bedford County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Broad Top Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Broad Top 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 Broad Top Township?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 7 paid, $120K.
Is Broad Top Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Broad Top Township’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Broad Top Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Broad Top 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.