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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Fairchance · FEMA

FEMA puts Fairchance’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairchance gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 92%Tornadoes 4%Hail 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 71%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Pennsylvania · lower than 71% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1978 · $1K
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 72% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Fairchance 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 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Hurricanes Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 Fairchance’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fairchance, and Fairchance’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Fairchance sits
Fairchance
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Tornadoes4%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $386K a year in losses across Fairchance: $339K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Fairchance’s 1,890 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 town’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 Fairchance flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fairchance, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 1 claim1979: 0 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 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: 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 claims1978
19782026
1
paid claims since 1978
$1K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$1K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Fairchance isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Fayette County.
Disasters

The storms Fairchance remembers

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

  1. 19781 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in FairchanceFayette County only

Fayette County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Fairchance after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Fairchance archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Fairchance 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 Fairchance

Is Fairchance at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairchance has lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: B+ 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 Fairchance flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Fairchance since 1978, $1K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Fairchance 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 Fayette County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Fairchance?

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

Is Fairchance at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Fairchance’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fairchance.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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