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Cass Twp War Memorial, Schuylkill Co PA 01Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Cass Township · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Cass Township than in 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cass Township gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%), then hurricanes (10%). Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2006.

River and rain flooding 77%Hurricanes 10%Tornadoes 5%

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

less than 96%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A+
in Pennsylvania · lower than 96% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
77% of expected building damage
Flood claims
6
paid since 2006 · $144K
Flood claims per home
7 per 1,000
more than 68% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Cass 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

77%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 19 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Landslides top 5% Hail Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cass Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cass Township, and Cass Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 10% (higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Cass Township sits
Cass Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ lower expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding77%Hurricanes10%Tornadoes5%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $581K a year in losses across Cass Township: $466K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Cass Township’s 1,765 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Forestville CDP (399 residents) and New Castle township (347 residents) and Heckscherville CDP (196 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 Cass Township flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 2006

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cass Township, from FEMA’s records: 7.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2006: 4 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 2 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20062011
20062026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Lee1 claim · $21K
6
paid claims since 2006
$144K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$24K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Cass 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.
Disasters

The storms Cass Township remembers

None of the 20 disasters declared for Schuylkill County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cass Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20064 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Schuylkill County
  2. 20112 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Schuylkill County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Cass TownshipSchuylkill County only

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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Cass Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Cass Township archive →
Next door

Cass Township and its neighbors

Cass Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Norwegian Township: hazard risk A−New Castle Township: not gradedFoster Township: not gradedMinersville: hazard risk C−Branch Township: hazard risk A−Butler Township: hazard risk C−Reilly Township: not gradedNorwegian TownshipNew Castle TownshipFoster TownshipMinersvilleBranch TownshipButler TownshipReilly TownshipCass Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Cass TownshipA+less damage than 96%river and rain flooding6
Branch TownshipA−less damage than 81%river and rain flooding2
Norwegian TownshipA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding—
Butler TownshipC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding—
MinersvilleC−more damage than 80%river and rain flooding15
New Castle Township—469 residents; we grade 1,000+
Foster Township—258 residents; we grade 1,000+
Reilly Township—678 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 Cass 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
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 Cass Township

Is Cass Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cass Township has lower expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and hurricanes (10%). 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 Cass Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Cass Township since 2006, $144K in all, or 7.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (1).

Is Cass 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 Cass Township?

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

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 1 paid, $21K.

Is Cass Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Cass Township’s rate for it is lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cass Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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