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BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Mount Joy Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Mount Joy Township faces less hazard damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Joy Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, #626 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%), then hurricanes (11%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2011.

River and rain flooding 80%Hurricanes 11%Tornadoes 4%

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 63%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#626 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
B#626 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 63% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
80% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2011 · $9K
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 72% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Mount Joy 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

80%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

11%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 12 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Hail Ice storms Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 11% of Mount Joy Township’s expected losses. Drought does 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 Mount Joy Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mount Joy Township, and Mount Joy Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 11% (higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Mount Joy Township sits
Mount Joy Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B #626 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding80%Hurricanes11%Tornadoes4%Everything else5%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Mount Joy Township has more expected damage per building than 60% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Mount Joy Township: $931K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Mount Joy Township’s 3,789 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 Mount Joy Township flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mount Joy 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
2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 1 claim2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20112021
20112026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Ida1 claim · $7K
  • Tropical Storm Lee1 claim · $2K
2
paid claims since 2011
$9K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$5K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mount Joy 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: Adams County.
Disasters

The storms Mount Joy Township remembers

None of the 16 disasters declared for Adams County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Mount Joy Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20111 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Adams County
  2. 20211 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Mount Joy TownshipAdams County only

Adams County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Mount Joy Township archive →
Next door

Mount Joy Township and its neighbors

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

Germany Township: hazard risk B+Cumberland Township: hazard risk A−Mount Pleasant Township: hazard risk B+Straban Township: hazard risk AGermany TownshipCumberland TownshipMount Pleasant TownshipStraban TownshipMount Joy Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Straban TownshipAless damage than 92%river and rain flooding2
Cumberland TownshipA−less damage than 77%river and rain flooding28
Germany TownshipB+less damage than 66%river and rain flooding1
Mount Pleasant TownshipB+less damage than 66%river and rain flooding7
Mount Joy TownshipBless damage than 63%river and rain flooding2

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 Mount Joy 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 Mount Joy Township

Is Mount Joy Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mount Joy Township has lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #626 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and hurricanes (11%). 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 Mount Joy Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Mount Joy Township since 2011, $9K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (1).

Is Mount Joy 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 Adams County, 25% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Mount Joy Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mount Joy 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 Mount Joy Township?

By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 1 paid, $7K.

Is Mount Joy Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Mount Joy Township’s rate for it is higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mount Joy Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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