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Harlan HouseHarlan House · Photo: Smallbones at en.wikipedia · Public domain
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Newlin Township · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Newlin Township than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Newlin Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1996.

River and rain flooding 83%Earthquakes 6%Hurricanes 5%

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 82%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A−
in Pennsylvania · lower than 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
83% of expected building damage
Flood claims
12
paid since 1996 · $584K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Flood claims per home
25 per 1,000
more than 87% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Newlin 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 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Ice storms Landslides top 4% Hail Lightning 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 drought at 19% of Newlin 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 Newlin Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 83% of the building damage FEMA expects in Newlin Township, and Newlin Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 6% (higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Newlin Township sits
Newlin Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding83%Earthquakes6%Hurricanes5%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across Newlin Township: $586K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Newlin Township’s 1,358 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with West Marlborough township (819 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Newlin Township flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Newlin Township, from FEMA’s records: 25.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 1 claim1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 2 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 2 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 1 claim2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 6 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199920032021
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Ida6 claims · $547K
  • Hurricane Floyd2 claims · $13K
12
paid claims since 1996
$584K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$49K
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

Newlin 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: Chester County.
Disasters

The storms Newlin Township remembers

None of the 21 disasters declared for Chester County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Newlin Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20216 flood claims paidThe year of Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared for Chester County
  2. 19992 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Chester County
  3. 20032 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel and Related Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Chester County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Newlin TownshipChester County only

Chester County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Newlin Township archive →
Next door

Newlin Township and its neighbors

Newlin Township is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

West Bradford Township: hazard risk AEast Marlborough Township: hazard risk A−Unionville: not gradedEast Fallowfield Township: hazard risk A+Pocopson Township: hazard risk C+West Marlborough Township: not gradedWest Bradford TownshipEast Marlborough TownshipUnionvilleEast Fallowfield TownshipPocopson TownshipWest Marlborough TownshipNewlin Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
East Fallowfield TownshipA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding5
West Bradford TownshipAless damage than 95%river and rain flooding11
East Marlborough TownshipA−less damage than 82%river and rain flooding4
Newlin TownshipA−less damage than 82%river and rain flooding12
Pocopson TownshipC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding121
Unionville—652 residents; we grade 1,000+
West Marlborough Township—777 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Newlin 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 ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Newlin Township

Is Newlin Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Newlin Township has lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (83%) and earthquakes (6%). 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 Newlin Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Newlin Township since 1996, $584K in all, or 25.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (6).

Is Newlin 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 Chester County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Newlin Township?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 6 paid, $547K.

Is Newlin Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (83%), and Newlin Township’s rate for it is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Newlin Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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