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Dillingersville Union Church and School.4Photo: PattiParker · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Lower Milford Township · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Lower Milford Township than in 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lower Milford Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns, #434 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2018.

River and rain flooding 83%Hurricanes 9%Tornadoes 3%

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 77%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#434 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
A−#434 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 77% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2018 · $49K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 72% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Lower Milford 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

83%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 17 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Lightning Hail Ice storms Landslides Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 20% of Lower Milford Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Milford Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lower Milford Township, and Lower Milford Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 9% (higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Lower Milford Township sits
Lower Milford Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− #434 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding83%Hurricanes9%Tornadoes3%Everything else5%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lower Milford Township has less expected damage per building than 58% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Lower Milford Township: $979K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Lower Milford Township’s 3,861 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Milford Township flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2018

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lower Milford Township, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 1 claim2026: 0 claims20182025
20182026
2
paid claims since 2018
$49K
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

Lower Milford 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: Lehigh County.
Disasters

The storms Lower Milford Township remembers

None of the 13 disasters declared for Lehigh County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lower Milford Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20181 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20251 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Lower Milford TownshipLehigh County only

Lehigh County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Lower Milford Township archive →
Next door

Lower Milford Township and its neighbors

Lower Milford Township is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Milford Township: hazard risk AUpper Milford Township: hazard risk AUpper Hanover Township: hazard risk B+Upper Saucon Township: hazard risk B+Milford TownshipUpper Milford TownshipUpper Hanover TownshipUpper Saucon TownshipLower Milford Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Milford TownshipAless damage than 93%river and rain flooding25
Upper Milford TownshipAless damage than 88%river and rain flooding10
Lower Milford TownshipA−less damage than 77%river and rain flooding2
Upper Saucon TownshipB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding17
Upper Hanover TownshipB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding6

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 Milford 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
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 Milford Township

Is Lower Milford Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lower Milford Township has lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #434 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%) and hurricanes (9%). 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 Milford Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Lower Milford Township since 2018, $49K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Lower Milford 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 Lehigh County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Lower Milford Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lower Milford Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

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

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (83%), and Lower Milford Township’s rate for it is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

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

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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