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Margaret Derrow HouseMargaret Derrow House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Donegal Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Donegal Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Donegal Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2003.

River and rain flooding 92%Hail 3%Tornadoes 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

less than 77%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 77% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
4
paid since 2003 · $31K
Flood claims per home
4 per 1,000
more than 53% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Donegal Township’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 77% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Landslides: the top 2% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for landslides here ranks in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts; it is 0.6% of the damage it expects.
By hazard

What Donegal 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

92%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Tornadoes Earthquakes Landslides top 2% Strong wind Hurricanes Wildfire Ice storms Lightning Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Donegal Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Donegal Township, and Donegal Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Donegal Township sits
Donegal Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $582K a year in losses across Donegal Township: $543K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Donegal Township’s 2,395 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Buffalo township (1,991 residents) and Claysville borough (733 residents) and Blaine township (617 residents) and West Alexander CDP (565 residents) and Taylorstown CDP (213 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 Donegal Township flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 2003

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Donegal Township, from FEMA’s records: 3.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2003: 1 claim2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 1 claim2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200320112013
20032026
4
paid claims since 2003
$31K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$8K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Donegal 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: Washington County.
Disasters

The storms Donegal Township remembers

None of the 11 disasters declared for Washington County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Donegal Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20031 flood claims paidThe year of Snow, declared for Washington County
  2. 20111 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 20131 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Donegal TownshipWashington County only

Washington County has had 11 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 Donegal Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Donegal Township archive →
Next door

Donegal Township and its neighbors

Donegal Township is 2nd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Independence Township: hazard risk C+Blaine Township: not gradedBuffalo Township: hazard risk A−West Finley Township: not gradedEast Finley Township: hazard risk C+Independence TownshipBlaine TownshipBuffalo TownshipWest Finley TownshipEast Finley TownshipDonegal Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Buffalo TownshipA−less damage than 77%river and rain flooding—
Donegal TownshipA−less damage than 77%river and rain flooding4
East Finley TownshipC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding3
Independence TownshipC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding—
Blaine Township—535 residents; we grade 1,000+
West Finley Township—708 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 Donegal 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 ↗
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 Donegal Township

Is Donegal Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Donegal Township has lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Donegal Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Donegal Township since 2003, $31K in all, or 3.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Donegal 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 Washington County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Donegal Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Donegal Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Donegal Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Donegal Township’s rate for it is higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Donegal Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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