Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Elk Creek Township than in 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Elk Creek Township gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1980.
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
What Elk Creek 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
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.
What’s behind Elk Creek Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Elk Creek Township, and Elk Creek Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 57% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 1%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
A lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Elk Creek Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $240K a year in losses across Elk Creek Township: $185K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Elk Creek Township flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Elk Creek Township, from FEMA’s records: 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 69% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Elk Creek 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: Erie County.The storms Elk Creek Township remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Erie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Elk Creek Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19801 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Erie County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Elk Creek Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Elk Creek Township archive →Elk Creek Township and its neighbors
Elk Creek Township is 4th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | Aless damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Washington Township | Aless damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Conneaut Township | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Elk Creek Township | Aless damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Girard Township | A−less damage than 84% | river and rain flooding | 17 |
| Cussewago Township | A−less damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Cranesville | — | 750 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Platea | — | 591 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.
Get ready for what Elk Creek 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.
- 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 Elk Creek Township
Is Elk Creek Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Elk Creek Township has lower expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Elk Creek Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Elk Creek Township since 1980, $4K in all, or 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 69% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Elk Creek 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 Erie County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Elk Creek Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Elk Creek Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Elk Creek Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Elk Creek Township’s rate for it is lower than 57% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Elk Creek Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Elk Creek 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.