Photo: User:Smallbones on English Wikipedia. · Public domainFEMA puts Marple Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Marple Township gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, #66 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%). Flood insurance has paid 44 claims here since 1978.
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 stands out about Marple Township’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Marple 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
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
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 Marple Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Marple Township, and Marple Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 9% (higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #66 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Marple Township’s residents live in 5 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Marple Township has less expected damage per building than 94% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.3M a year in losses across Marple Township: $3.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Marple Township flood? Sometimes: 44 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Marple Township, from FEMA’s records: 5.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 60% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Isaias11 claims · $1.1M
- Hurricane Floyd4 claims · $95K
- Hurricane Irene4 claims · $89K
Marple 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: Delaware County.The storms Marple Township remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Delaware County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Marple Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 202012 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19995 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Delaware County
- 20105 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms, declared for Delaware County
Delaware County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Marple Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Marple Township archive →Marple Township and its neighbors
Marple Township is 2nd 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newtown Township | A+among the lowest damage | river and rain flooding | 18 |
| Marple Township | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 44 |
| Radnor Township | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | 103 |
| Springfield Township | Aless damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 123 |
| Upper Providence Township | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Haverford Township | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 139 |
| Nether Providence Township | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 17 |
| Broomall | — | 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 Marple 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Marple Township
Is Marple Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Marple Township has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #66 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and earthquakes (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Marple Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 44 claims in Marple Township since 1978, $1.7M in all, or 5.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 60% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 5 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Isaias (11).
Is Marple 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 Delaware County, 39% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Marple Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Marple 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 Marple Township?
By flood claims, Hurricane Isaias: 11 paid, $1.1M.
Is Marple Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Marple Township’s rate for it is lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Marple Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Marple 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.