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Limestone Twp., Lycoming Co., PA municipal building, Aug. 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
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Limestone Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Limestone Township faces less hazard damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Limestone Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 103 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 4%Tornadoes 2%

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 68%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Pennsylvania · lower than 68% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
103
paid since 1979 · $1.9M
Flooded more than once
11
properties · 3 “severe repetitive loss”
Flood claims per home
116 per 1,000
more than 97% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Limestone Township’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 68% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.103 paid flood claims since 1979$1.9M in all; 11 properties flooded more than once. More per home than 97% of U.S. towns.Remembers 199642 flood claims were paid for 1996 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Limestone 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

92%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Hail Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms 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 Limestone Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Limestone Township, and Limestone Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Limestone Township sits
Limestone Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes4%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $597K a year in losses across Limestone Township: $490K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Limestone Township’s 1,966 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Nippenose township (661 residents) and Bastress township (527 residents) and Oval CDP (366 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 Limestone Township flood? Yes: 103 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Limestone Township, from FEMA’s records: 115.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 10 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 1 claim1982: 0 claims1983: 1 claim1984: 15 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 1 claim1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 1 claim1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 42 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 3 claims2004: 23 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 1 claim2008: 2 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 1 claim2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198419962004
19792026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan23 claims · $772K
103
paid claims since 1979
$1.9M
paid to owners
11
homes flooded more than once
$18K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (3)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Limestone 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: Lycoming County.
Disasters

The storms Limestone Township remembers

None of the 17 disasters declared for Lycoming County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Limestone Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 199642 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Lycoming County
  2. 200423 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Lycoming County
  3. 198415 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Limestone TownshipLycoming County only

Lycoming County has had 17 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 Limestone Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Limestone Township archive →
Next door

Limestone Township and its neighbors

Limestone Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Bastress Township: not gradedCrawford Township: not gradedNippenose Township: not gradedWashington Township: hazard risk BRauchtown: not gradedBastress TownshipCrawford TownshipNippenose TownshipWashington TownshipRauchtownLimestone Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Limestone TownshipB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding103
Washington TownshipBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding1
Bastress Township—562 residents; we grade 1,000+
Crawford Township—835 residents; we grade 1,000+
Nippenose Township—565 residents; we grade 1,000+
Rauchtown—586 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 Limestone 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 Limestone Township

Is Limestone Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Limestone Township has lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. 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.

Does Limestone Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 103 claims in Limestone Township since 1979, $1.9M in all, or 115.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 11 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (23).

Is Limestone 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 Lycoming County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Limestone Township?

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

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 23 paid, $772K.

Is Limestone Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Limestone Township’s rate for it is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Limestone Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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