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Penn Twp Municipal Bldg, BerksCo PA 01Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Penn Township · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Penn Township than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Penn Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% 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.

River and rain flooding 82%Hurricanes 8%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 69%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Pennsylvania · lower than 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 19 declared for Berks County
By hazard

What Penn 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

82%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 19 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Hail Wildfire Ice storms Landslides top 5% Lightning Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Penn Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Penn Township, and Penn Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 8% (higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Penn Township sits
Penn Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Hurricanes8%Tornadoes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $660K a year in losses across Penn Township: $436K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Penn Township’s 2,122 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Bernville borough (905 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 Penn Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Penn Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Penn 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.
Disasters

The storms Penn Township remembers

None of the 19 disasters declared for Berks County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Penn Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Penn TownshipBerks County only

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.

Next door

Penn Township and its neighbors

Penn Township is 4th of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Jefferson Township: hazard risk BNorth Heidelberg Township: hazard risk BUpper Tulpehocken Township: hazard risk ABernville: not gradedCentre Township: hazard risk BBern Township: hazard risk ALower Heidelberg Township: hazard risk B+Jefferson TownshipNorth Heidelberg TownshipUpper Tulpehocken TownshipBernvilleCentre TownshipBern TownshipLower Heidelberg TownshipPenn Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Upper Tulpehocken TownshipAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding—
Bern TownshipAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding15
Lower Heidelberg TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding6
Penn TownshipB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding0
Centre TownshipBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding11
Jefferson TownshipBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding1
North Heidelberg TownshipBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding1
Bernville—802 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 Penn 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 Penn Township

Is Penn Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Penn Township has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) and hurricanes (8%). 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 Penn 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 Penn Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Penn Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Penn Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Penn Township’s rate for it is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Penn Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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