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DHazard risk
Natural hazards in East Deer Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, East Deer Township faces more hazard damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, East Deer Township gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (98%). Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1985.

River and rain flooding 98%

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

more than 91%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in Pennsylvania · higher than 91% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
98% of expected building damage
Flood claims
19
paid since 1985 · $89K
Flooded more than once
3
properties
Flood claims per home
24 per 1,000
more than 86% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What East Deer 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

98%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Hurricanes Hail Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
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 East Deer Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 98% of the building damage FEMA expects in East Deer Township, and East Deer Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where East Deer Township sits
East Deer Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding98%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across East Deer Township: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of East Deer Township’s 1,490 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 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 East Deer Township flood? Sometimes: 19 flood claims since 1985

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in East Deer Township, from FEMA’s records: 24.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1985: 2 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 12 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 4 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198520042018
19852026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan8 claims · $37K
19
paid claims since 1985
$89K
paid to owners
3
homes flooded more than once
$5K
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

East Deer 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: Allegheny County.
Disasters

The storms East Deer Township remembers

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

  1. 200412 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Allegheny County
  2. 20184 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 19852 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Allegheny County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in East Deer TownshipAllegheny 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 East Deer Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the East Deer Township archive →
Next door

East Deer Township and its neighbors

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

Frazer Township: hazard risk A+Tarentum: hazard risk DArnold: hazard risk C−New Kensington: hazard risk B−Frazer TownshipTarentumArnoldNew KensingtonEast Deer Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Frazer TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding1
New KensingtonB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding37
ArnoldC−more damage than 84%river and rain flooding2
East Deer TownshipDmore damage than 91%river and rain flooding19
TarentumDmore damage than 94%river and rain flooding26

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 East Deer 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 East Deer Township

Is East Deer Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, East Deer Township has higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (98%). 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 East Deer Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 19 claims in East Deer Township since 1985, $89K in all, or 24.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (8).

Is East Deer 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 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 East Deer Township?

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

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 8 paid, $37K.

Is East Deer Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (98%), and East Deer Township’s rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in East Deer Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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