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Bridge in Dreher TownshipBridge in Dreher Township · Photo: PennDOT · Public domain
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Dreher Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Dreher Township faces less hazard damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dreher Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1984.

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 70%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Dreher 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

85%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Tornadoes Earthquakes Ice storms Winter storms Hail Wildfire 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 10% of Dreher Township’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 Dreher Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dreher Township, and Dreher Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 9% (higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Dreher Township sits
Dreher Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding85%Hurricanes9%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $387K a year in losses across Dreher Township: $298K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Dreher Township’s 1,350 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Sterling township (1,482 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 Dreher Township flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1984

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dreher Township, from FEMA’s records: 6.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 66% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1984: 2 claims1985: 1 claim1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 1 claim1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 1 claim2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 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 claims198419851996
19842026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Gloria1 claim · $4K
5
paid claims since 1984
$16K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$3K
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

Dreher 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: Wayne County.
Disasters

The storms Dreher Township remembers

None of the 21 disasters declared for Wayne County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dreher Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19842 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 19851 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Gloria, declared for Wayne County
  3. 19961 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Wayne County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Dreher TownshipWayne County only

Wayne County has had 21 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 Dreher Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Dreher Township archive →
Next door

Dreher Township and its neighbors

Dreher Township is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Coolbaugh TownshipA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding17
Lehigh TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding6
Sterling TownshipB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding2
Dreher TownshipB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding5
Greene TownshipB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding—
Pocono Springs—835 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 Dreher 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 Dreher Township

Is Dreher Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dreher Township has lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and hurricanes (9%). 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 Dreher Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Dreher Township since 1984, $16K in all, or 6.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 66% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Gloria (1).

Is Dreher 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 Wayne County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Dreher Township?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Gloria: 1 paid, $4K.

Is Dreher Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Dreher Township’s rate for it is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dreher Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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