Photo: Jason Pratt (FishSpeaker) from Pittsburgh, PA · CC BY 2.0On FEMA’s figures, Hanover Township faces less hazard damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hanover Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, #427 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Hanover 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
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 Hanover Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hanover Township, and Hanover Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #427 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Hanover Township’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, Hanover Township has less expected damage per building than 59% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $607K a year in losses across Hanover Township: $554K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Hanover Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hanover Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hanover 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: Beaver County.The storms Hanover Township remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Beaver County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hanover Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Beaver County has had 12 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Hanover Township and its neighbors
Hanover Township is 5th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Findlay Township | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Raccoon Township | A+less damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Hanover Township | Aless damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Greene Township | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 62 |
| Hanover Township | A−less damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Robinson Township | B+less damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Independence Township | B−more damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Frankfort Springs | — | 101 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.
Get ready for what Hanover 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.
- 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 Hanover Township
Is Hanover Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hanover Township has lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #427 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Hanover 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 Beaver County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hanover Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hanover Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Hanover Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Hanover Township’s rate for it is higher than 53% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hanover Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hanover 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.