Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Girardville faces more hazard damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Girardville gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). Flood insurance has paid 24 claims here since 1978.
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 Girardville 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
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 Girardville’s grade
River and rain flooding is 94% of the building damage FEMA expects in Girardville, and Girardville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Girardville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $781K a year in losses across Girardville: $654K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Girardville flood? Sometimes: 24 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Girardville, from FEMA’s records: 28.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 88% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Tropical Storm Ivan3 claims · $13K
Girardville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Schuylkill County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Girardville
Disasters that paid out in Girardville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Girardville), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee7 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides77 households applied for aid$98K aid approved18 flood claims paid that year
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan8 households applied for aid$21K aid approved3 flood claims paid for it, $13K
Schuylkill County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Girardville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Girardville archive →Get ready for what Girardville 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.
- 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 Girardville
Is Girardville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Girardville has higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (94%). 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 Girardville flood?
Flood insurance has paid 24 claims in Girardville since 1978, $122K in all, or 28.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 88% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (3).
Is Girardville 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 Schuylkill County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Girardville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Girardville’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 Girardville?
By FEMA money that reached Girardville, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2006): 77 households applied for aid, $98K approved. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 3 paid, $13K.
Is Girardville at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (94%), and Girardville’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Girardville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Girardville’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.