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 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Fairless Hills
Fairless Hills isn’t graded for hazard risk: Fairless Hills is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 49 claims here since 1978.
What Fairless Hills 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
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
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.
Does Fairless Hills flood? Sometimes: 49 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fairless Hills, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene6 claims · $267K
- Hurricane Floyd6 claims · $87K
- The Mid-spring storms2 claims · $8K
Fairless Hills isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bucks County.The storms Fairless Hills remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Bucks County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fairless Hills itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 199612 flood claims paidThe year of Flooding, Severe Storms, declared for Bucks County
- 19996 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Bucks County
- 20116 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Bucks County
Bucks County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Fairless Hills after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fairless Hills archive →Fairless Hills and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown Township | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 273 |
| Falls Township | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 117 |
| Levittown | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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 Fairless Hills 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Fairless Hills
Does Fairless Hills flood?
Flood insurance has paid 49 claims in Fairless Hills since 1978, $818K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (6).
Is Fairless Hills 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 Bucks County, 49% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fairless Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fairless Hills’ 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 Fairless Hills?
By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 6 paid, $267K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fairless Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fairless Hills’ 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.