Photo: Historic American Engineering Record · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Marion Township faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Marion Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Marion 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
Hurricanes
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.
What’s behind Marion Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Marion Township, and Marion Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 9% (higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts).
B lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Marion Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $723K a year in losses across Marion Township: $490K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Marion Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Marion Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Marion 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: Berks County.The storms Marion Township remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Berks County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Marion Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Berks County has had 19 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.
Marion Township and its neighbors
Marion Township is 7th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millcreek Township | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Heidelberg Township | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Womelsdorf | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Jackson Township | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Tulpehocken Township | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | — |
| North Heidelberg Township | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Marion Township | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Newmanstown | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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.
Get ready for what Marion 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Marion Township
Is Marion Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Marion Township has lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) 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.
Is Marion 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 Berks County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Marion Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Marion Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Marion Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Marion Township’s rate for it is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Marion Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Marion 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.