Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Brownsville than in 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brownsville gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). Flood insurance has paid 36 claims here since 1980.
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 Brownsville 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
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 Brownsville’s grade
River and rain flooding is 97% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brownsville, and Brownsville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Brownsville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Brownsville: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brownsville flood? Sometimes: 36 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brownsville, from FEMA’s records: 25.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Brownsville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fayette County.The storms Brownsville remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Fayette County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Brownsville itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 198511 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Fayette County
- 199611 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Fayette County
- 20005 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Fayette County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Brownsville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Brownsville archive →Brownsville and its neighbors
Brownsville is 3rd of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne Township | C−more damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 21 |
| Centerville | C−more damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 32 |
| Brownsville | Dmore damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 36 |
| Brownsville Township | — | 539 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Hiller | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| West Brownsville | — | not graded yet | |
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 Brownsville 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.
- 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 Brownsville
Is Brownsville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brownsville has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). 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 Brownsville flood?
Flood insurance has paid 36 claims in Brownsville since 1980, $287K in all, or 25.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 4 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Brownsville 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 Fayette County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Brownsville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brownsville’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Brownsville at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (97%), and Brownsville’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brownsville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brownsville’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.