Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Butler Township’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Butler Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns, #962 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). 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 Butler 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
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 Butler Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Butler Township, and Butler Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #962 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Butler Township’s residents live in 2 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, Butler Township has more expected damage per building than 93% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.2M a year in losses across Butler Township: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Butler Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Butler Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Butler 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: Schuylkill County.The storms Butler Township remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Schuylkill County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Butler Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Schuylkill County has had 20 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.
Butler Township and its neighbors
Butler Township is 4th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cass Township | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Frackville | Aless damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| West Mahanoy Township | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Butler Township | C−more damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Ashland | Dmore damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Eldred Township | — | 911 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Barry Township | — | 860 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Englewood | — | 661 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Conyngham Township | — | 815 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Gilberton | — | 687 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| East Cameron Township | — | 663 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 Butler 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.
- 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 Butler Township
Is Butler Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Butler Township has higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #962 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Butler 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 Schuylkill County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Butler Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Butler Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Butler Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Butler Township’s rate for it is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Butler Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Butler 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.