Photo: Nyttend · Public domainFEMA puts Lancaster Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 63% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lancaster Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, #627 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lancaster Township, and Lancaster Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
B #627 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lancaster 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, Lancaster Township has more expected damage per building than 60% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $950K a year in losses across Lancaster Township: $893K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lancaster Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lancaster Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lancaster 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: Butler County.The storms Lancaster Township remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Butler County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lancaster Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Butler County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Lancaster Township and its neighbors
Lancaster Township is 4th of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connoquenessing Township | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Muddy Creek Township | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Jackson Township | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 244 |
| Lancaster Township | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Franklin Township | C+more damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 298 |
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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster Township
Is Lancaster Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lancaster Township has lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #627 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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 Lancaster 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 Butler County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lancaster Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lancaster Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lancaster Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Lancaster Township’s rate for it is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lancaster Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lancaster 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.