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Liberty Pennsylvania Blockhouse FestivalPhoto: User:Oceanfloweraquarium · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Liberty Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Liberty Township’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Liberty Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). Flood insurance has paid 11 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 80%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Liberty 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Hail Winter storms Ice 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 Liberty Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Liberty Township, and Liberty Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Liberty Township sits
Liberty Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding95%Hurricanes3%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $601K a year in losses across Liberty Township: $560K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Liberty Township’s 1,033 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Union township (946 residents) and Morris township (569 residents) and Liberty borough (234 residents) and Duncan township (189 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 Liberty Township flood? Sometimes: 11 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Liberty Township, from FEMA’s records: 22.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% 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: 4 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 4 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 claims199620042011
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan4 claims · $18K
  • Tropical Storm Lee3 claims · $35K
11
paid claims since 1996
$95K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$9K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Liberty 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: Tioga County.
Disasters

The storms Liberty Township remembers

None of the 16 disasters declared for Tioga County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Liberty Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20044 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Tioga County
  2. 20114 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Tioga County
  3. 19961 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Thunderstorms, High Winds,rain, Flooding, declared for Tioga County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Liberty TownshipTioga County only

Tioga County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Liberty Township archive →
Next door

Liberty Township and its neighbors

Liberty Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Jackson Township: not gradedUnion Township: not gradedHamilton Township: not gradedMorris Township: not gradedJackson TownshipUnion TownshipHamilton TownshipMorris TownshipLiberty Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Liberty TownshipC−more damage than 80%river and rain flooding11
Jackson Township—403 residents; we grade 1,000+
Union Township—not graded yet
Hamilton Township—756 residents; we grade 1,000+
Morris Township—641 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 Liberty 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 Liberty Township

Is Liberty Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Liberty Township has higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. 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.

Does Liberty Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 11 claims in Liberty Township since 1996, $95K in all, or 22.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (4).

Is Liberty 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 Tioga County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Liberty Township?

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

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 4 paid, $18K.

Is Liberty Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Liberty Township’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Liberty Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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