Photo: Smallbones at en.wikipedia · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Darby Township
Darby Township isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Darby Township yet. Flood insurance has paid 33 claims here since 1979.
What Darby 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
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
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.
Does Darby Township flood? Sometimes: 33 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Darby Township, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Floyd6 claims · $235K
- Hurricane Irene4 claims · $17K
- Hurricane Isaias1 claim · $47K
Darby 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: Delaware County.The storms Darby Township remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Delaware County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Darby Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19997 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Delaware County
- 20115 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Delaware County
- 19914 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Delaware County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Darby Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Darby Township archive →Darby Township and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collingdale | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 40 |
| Glenolden | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Folcroft | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Sharon Hill | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Ridley Township | A−less damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | 85 |
| Upper Darby Township | B+less damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 363 |
| Philadelphia | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 1,177 |
| Colwyn | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 90 |
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 Darby 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Darby Township
Does Darby Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 33 claims in Darby Township since 1979, $487K in all. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Floyd (6).
Is Darby 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 Delaware County, 39% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Darby Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Darby 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 Darby Township?
By flood claims, Hurricane Floyd: 6 paid, $235K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Darby Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Darby 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.