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BeulahPresbyterianChurchPhoto: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Churchill · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect less hazard damage per building than Churchill, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Churchill gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #21 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2004.

River and rain flooding 91%Tornadoes 4%Earthquakes 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

among the lowestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#21 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
A+#21 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · among the lowest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
7
paid since 2004 · $104K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Flood claims per home
5 per 1,000
more than 60% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Churchill 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

91%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Hurricanes Winter storms Hail Wildfire Ice storms Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 13% of Churchill’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Churchill’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Churchill, and Churchill’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Churchill sits
Churchill
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ #21 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Tornadoes4%Everything else5%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Churchill has less expected damage per building than 98% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $610K a year in losses across Churchill: $486K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Churchill’s 3,157 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’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 Churchill flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 2004

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Churchill, from FEMA’s records: 5.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 60% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 3 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 1 claim2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 1 claim2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200420092014
20042026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan1 claim · $1K
7
paid claims since 2004
$104K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$15K
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

Churchill isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Allegheny County.
Disasters

The storms Churchill remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Allegheny County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Churchill itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20093 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20041 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Allegheny County
  3. 20141 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ChurchillAllegheny County only

Allegheny County has had 15 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 Churchill after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Churchill archive →
Next door

Churchill and its neighbors

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

Wilkins Township: hazard risk A+Penn Hills: hazard risk A+Forest Hills: hazard risk A+Wilkinsburg: hazard risk AWilkins TownshipPenn HillsForest HillsWilkinsburgChurchill
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ChurchillA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding7
Wilkins TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding27
Penn HillsA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding40
Forest HillsA+less damage than 95%river and rain flooding9
WilkinsburgAless damage than 95%river and rain flooding1

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 Churchill 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 Churchill

Is Churchill at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Churchill has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #21 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). 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 Churchill flood?

Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Churchill since 2004, $104K in all, or 5.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 60% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (1).

Is Churchill 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 Allegheny County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Churchill?

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

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

Is Churchill at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Churchill’s rate for it is lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Churchill.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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