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View of Lake Carey in Lemon Township, Wyoming County, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lemon Township · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Lemon Township than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lemon Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1996.

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

more than 82%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Lemon 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

96%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Hail Winter storms Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
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 Lemon Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lemon Township, and Lemon Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Lemon Township sits
Lemon Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding96%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $620K a year in losses across Lemon Township: $578K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Lemon Township’s 1,136 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Mehoopany township (899 residents) and Forkston township (307 residents) and North Branch township (232 residents) and Mehoopany CDP (218 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 Lemon Township flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lemon Township, from FEMA’s records: 6.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 1 claim1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199620042006
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan1 claim · $15K
4
paid claims since 1996
$95K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$24K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Lemon 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: Wyoming County.
Disasters

The storms Lemon Township remembers

None of the 21 disasters declared for Wyoming County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lemon Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19961 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Wyoming County
  2. 20041 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Wyoming County
  3. 20061 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Wyoming County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Lemon TownshipWyoming County only

Wyoming County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Lemon Township archive →
Next door

Lemon Township and its neighbors

Lemon Township is 5th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Tunkhannock TownshipCmore damage than 65%river and rain flooding87
Nicholson TownshipC−more damage than 80%river and rain flooding39
Clinton TownshipC−more damage than 80%river and rain flooding—
Washington TownshipC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding—
Lemon TownshipC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding4

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 Lemon 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 Lemon Township

Is Lemon Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lemon Township has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). 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 Lemon Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Lemon Township since 1996, $95K in all, or 6.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 67% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (1).

Is Lemon 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 Wyoming County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lemon Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lemon Township’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 Lemon Township?

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 paid, $15K.

Is Lemon Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Lemon Township’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lemon Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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