Centre Mills · Photo: Smallbones · CC0On FEMA’s figures, Miles 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, Miles 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 (92%). 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 Miles 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
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 Miles Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Miles Township, and Miles Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Miles Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $511K a year in losses across Miles Township: $458K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Miles Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Miles Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Miles 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: Centre County.The storms Miles Township remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Centre County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Miles Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Centre County has had 12 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.
Miles Township and its neighbors
Miles Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles Township | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Greene Township | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 62 |
| Gregg Township | C+more damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 56 |
| Haines Township | C−more damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Penn Township | C−more damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Logan Township | — | 754 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.
Get ready for what Miles 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.
- 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 Miles Township
Is Miles Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Miles 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 (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.
Is Miles 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 Centre County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Miles Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Miles Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Miles Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Miles Township’s rate for it is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Miles Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Miles 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.