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2022-06-13 18 10 50 View north along Pennsylvania State Route 958 at Greeley Street in Freehold Township, Warren County, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Freehold Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Freehold Township’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 66% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Freehold Township gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1986.

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 66%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Freehold 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

96%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hurricanes Strong wind Earthquakes Winter storms Hail Ice storms Wildfire 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 Freehold Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Freehold Township, and Freehold Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Freehold Township sits
Freehold Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding96%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $396K a year in losses across Freehold Township: $332K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Freehold Township’s 1,211 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Sugar Grove township (1,609 residents) and Columbus township (1,604 residents) and Columbus CDP (678 residents) and Sugar Grove borough (564 residents) and Bear Lake borough (148 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 Freehold Township flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1986

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Freehold Township, from FEMA’s records: 2.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 57% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1986: 1 claim1987: 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 claims1986
19862026
1
paid claims since 1986
$11K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$11K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Freehold 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: Warren County.
Disasters

The storms Freehold Township remembers

None of the 7 disasters declared for Warren County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Freehold Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19861 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Freehold TownshipWarren County only

Warren County has had 7 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Freehold Township archive →
Next door

Freehold Township and its neighbors

Freehold Township is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Sugar Grove TownshipCmore damage than 66%river and rain flooding—
Columbus TownshipCmore damage than 66%river and rain flooding—
Freehold TownshipCmore damage than 66%river and rain flooding1
HarmonyCmore damage than 67%river and rain flooding—
Pittsfield TownshipDmore damage than 90%river and rain flooding—
Bear Lake—132 residents; we grade 1,000+
Spring Creek Township—861 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 Freehold 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 Freehold Township

Is Freehold Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Freehold Township has higher expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). 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 Freehold Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Freehold Township since 1986, $11K in all, or 2.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 57% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Freehold 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 Warren County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Freehold Township?

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

Is Freehold Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Freehold Township’s rate for it is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Freehold Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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