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Quarry in Lower Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lower Mahanoy Township · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Lower Mahanoy Township than in 65% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lower Mahanoy Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1996.

River and rain flooding 90%Hurricanes 5%Tornadoes 1%

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 65%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Pennsylvania · higher than 65% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
90% of expected building damage
Flood claims
6
paid since 1996 · $152K
Flooded more than once
2
properties
Flood claims per home
8 per 1,000
more than 70% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Lower Mahanoy 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

90%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Landslides top 2% Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Hail Cold waves Heat waves Lightning Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Lower Mahanoy Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lower Mahanoy Township, and Lower Mahanoy Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Lower Mahanoy Township sits
Lower Mahanoy Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding90%Hurricanes5%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $615K a year in losses across Lower Mahanoy Township: $505K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Lower Mahanoy Township’s 1,626 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Jackson township (898 residents) and Jordan township (783 residents) and Washington township (753 residents) and Upper Mahanoy township (648 residents) and Dalmatia CDP (475 residents) and Herndon borough (347 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 Lower Mahanoy Township flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lower Mahanoy Township, from FEMA’s records: 8.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 2 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 2 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 2 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 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 claims199620042011
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan2 claims · $46K
  • Tropical Storm Lee2 claims · $71K
6
paid claims since 1996
$152K
paid to owners
2
homes flooded more than once
$25K
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

Lower Mahanoy 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: Northumberland County.
Disasters

The storms Lower Mahanoy Township remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Northumberland County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lower Mahanoy Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19962 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Northumberland County
  2. 20042 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Northumberland County
  3. 20112 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Northumberland County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Lower Mahanoy TownshipNorthumberland County only

Northumberland County has had 15 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 Lower Mahanoy Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Lower Mahanoy Township archive →
Next door

Lower Mahanoy Township and its neighbors

Lower Mahanoy Township is 5th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Upper Paxton Township: hazard risk B−Mifflin Township: not gradedChapman Township: hazard risk BPort Trevorton: not gradedJackson Township: not gradedUnion Township: hazard risk BPillow: not gradedSusquehanna Township: hazard risk C+Jordan Township: not gradedLiverpool Township: hazard risk CUpper Paxton TownshipMifflin TownshipChapman TownshipPort TrevortonJackson TownshipUnion TownshipPillowSusquehanna TownshipJordan TownshipLiverpool TownshipLower Mahanoy Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Chapman TownshipBless damage than 57%river and rain flooding18
Union TownshipBless damage than 57%river and rain flooding25
Upper Paxton TownshipB−more damage than 54%river and rain flooding55
Susquehanna TownshipC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding—
Lower Mahanoy TownshipC+more damage than 65%river and rain flooding6
Liverpool TownshipCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding32
Mifflin Township—857 residents; we grade 1,000+
Port Trevorton—687 residents; we grade 1,000+
Jackson Township—825 residents; we grade 1,000+
Pillow—264 residents; we grade 1,000+
Jordan Township—791 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 Lower Mahanoy 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 Lower Mahanoy Township

Is Lower Mahanoy Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lower Mahanoy Township has higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Lower Mahanoy Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Lower Mahanoy Township since 1996, $152K in all, or 8.2 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (2).

Is Lower Mahanoy 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 Northumberland County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lower Mahanoy Township?

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

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 2 paid, $46K.

Is Lower Mahanoy Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Lower Mahanoy Township’s rate for it is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lower Mahanoy Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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