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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Forest Lake Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Forest Lake Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Forest Lake Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 86%Hurricanes 8%Tornadoes 3%

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 74%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 74% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 20 declared for Susquehanna County
By hazard

What Forest Lake 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

86%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Hail Lightning Wildfire 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 Forest Lake Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Forest Lake Township, and Forest Lake Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 8% (higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Forest Lake Township sits
Forest Lake Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Hurricanes8%Tornadoes3%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $547K a year in losses across Forest Lake Township: $471K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Forest Lake Township’s 1,114 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Choconut township (679 residents) and Apolacon township (426 residents) and Middletown township (284 residents) and Little Meadows borough (245 residents) and Friendsville borough (101 residents) and Forest Lake CDP (59 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 Forest Lake Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Forest Lake Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Forest Lake 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: Susquehanna County.
Disasters

The storms Forest Lake Township remembers

None of the 20 disasters declared for Susquehanna County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Forest Lake Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Forest Lake TownshipSusquehanna County only

Susquehanna County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Next door

Forest Lake Township and its neighbors

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

Bridgewater Township: hazard risk A+Silver Lake Township: hazard risk A−Friendsville: not gradedMiddletown Township: not gradedRush Township: hazard risk A−Choconut Township: not gradedBridgewater TownshipSilver Lake TownshipFriendsvilleMiddletown TownshipRush TownshipChoconut TownshipForest Lake Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Bridgewater TownshipA+less damage than 98%river and rain flooding5
Rush TownshipA−less damage than 78%river and rain flooding14
Silver Lake TownshipA−less damage than 76%river and rain flooding2
Forest Lake TownshipB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding0
Friendsville—162 residents; we grade 1,000+
Middletown Township—383 residents; we grade 1,000+
Choconut Township—693 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 Forest Lake 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 Forest Lake Township

Is Forest Lake Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Forest Lake Township has lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and hurricanes (8%). 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.

Is Forest Lake 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 Susquehanna County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Forest Lake Township?

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

Is Forest Lake Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Forest Lake Township’s rate for it is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Forest Lake Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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