Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Irwin Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
I-80 wb in Irwin Township, Venango Co., PA, June 2024Photo: 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 4.0
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Irwin Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Irwin 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, Irwin Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 2004.

River and rain flooding 89%Tornadoes 5%Strong wind 4%

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 78%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A−
in Pennsylvania · lower than 78% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
5
paid since 2004 · $20K
Flood claims per home
9 per 1,000
more than 71% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Irwin 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

89%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Hurricanes Earthquakes Hail Winter storms Wildfire Ice storms Lightning 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 Irwin Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Irwin Township, and Irwin Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Irwin Township sits
Irwin Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Tornadoes5%Strong wind4%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $270K a year in losses across Irwin Township: $227K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Irwin Township’s 1,253 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Clinton township (953 residents) and Mineral township (498 residents) and Clintonville borough (439 residents) and Victory township (375 residents) and Barkeyville borough (188 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 Irwin Township flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 2004

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Irwin Township, from FEMA’s records: 8.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 3 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 1 claim2014: 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 claims200420112013
20042026
5
paid claims since 2004
$20K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$4K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Irwin 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: Venango County.
Disasters

The storms Irwin Township remembers

None of the 12 disasters declared for Venango County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Irwin Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20113 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20041 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Venango County
  3. 20131 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, declared for Venango County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Irwin TownshipVenango County only

Venango County has had 12 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Irwin Township archive →
Next door

Irwin Township and its neighbors

Irwin Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Barkeyville: not gradedMarion Township: hazard risk BClinton Township: not gradedMineral Township: not gradedVictory Township: not gradedMercer Township: hazard risk BBarkeyvilleMarion TownshipClinton TownshipMineral TownshipVictory TownshipMercer TownshipIrwin Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Irwin TownshipA−less damage than 78%river and rain flooding5
Mercer TownshipBless damage than 61%river and rain flooding7
Marion TownshipBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding—
Barkeyville—217 residents; we grade 1,000+
Clinton Township—817 residents; we grade 1,000+
Mineral Township—472 residents; we grade 1,000+
Victory Township—411 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 Irwin 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 Irwin Township

Is Irwin Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Irwin Township has lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). 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 Irwin Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Irwin Township since 2004, $20K in all, or 8.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 71% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Irwin 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 Venango County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Irwin Township?

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

Is Irwin Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Irwin Township’s rate for it is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Irwin Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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