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 4.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Freeland than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Freeland gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #15 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Freeland 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
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
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 Freeland’s grade
River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Freeland, and Freeland’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 94% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 8% (higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #15 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Freeland’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Freeland has less expected damage per building than 99% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $477K a year in losses across Freeland: $270K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Freeland flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Freeland. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Freeland isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Luzerne County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Freeland
Disasters that paid out in Freeland itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Freeland), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee5 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides21 households applied for aid$50K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan3 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
Luzerne County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Freeland after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Freeland archive →Get ready for what Freeland 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.
- 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Freeland
Is Freeland at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Freeland has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #15 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) 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 Freeland 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 Luzerne County, 53% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Freeland?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Freeland’s 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 Freeland?
By FEMA money that reached Freeland, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2006): 21 households applied for aid, $50K approved.
Is Freeland at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Freeland’s rate for it is lower than 94% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Freeland.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Freeland’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.