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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Perkiomen Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Perkiomen Township faces less hazard damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Perkiomen Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, #483 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 104 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 85%Earthquakes 5%Hurricanes 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 74%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#483 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
B+#483 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 74% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
85% of expected building damage
Flood claims
104
paid since 1978 · $3.8M
Flooded more than once
18
properties · 7 “severe repetitive loss”
Flood claims per home
34 per 1,000
more than 89% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Perkiomen Township’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 74% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.104 paid flood claims since 1978$3.8M in all; 18 properties flooded more than once. More per home than 89% of U.S. towns.Remembers 202119 flood claims were paid for 2021 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Perkiomen 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

85%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Hail Lightning Wildfire Ice 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 cold waves at 11% of Perkiomen Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do 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 Perkiomen Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Perkiomen Township, and Perkiomen Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Perkiomen Township sits
Perkiomen Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #483 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Perkiomen Township’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding85%Earthquakes5%Hurricanes4%Everything else6%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Perkiomen Township has less expected damage per building than 53% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.9M a year in losses across Perkiomen Township: $2.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Perkiomen Township covers 2 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Perkiomen Township flood? Yes: 104 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Perkiomen Township, from FEMA’s records: 33.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 1 claim1979: 9 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 6 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 5 claims1994: 1 claim1995: 1 claim1996: 14 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 7 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 3 claims2005: 2 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 2 claims2011: 10 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 3 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 1 claim2019: 4 claims2020: 14 claims2021: 19 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199620202021
19782026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Ida18 claims · $2.0M
  • Hurricane Isaias14 claims · $627K
  • Hurricane Irene10 claims · $417K
104
paid claims since 1978
$3.8M
paid to owners
18
homes flooded more than once
$37K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (7)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Perkiomen 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: Montgomery County.
Disasters

The storms Perkiomen Township remembers

None of the 23 disasters declared for Montgomery County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Perkiomen Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 202119 flood claims paidThe year of Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared for Montgomery County
  2. 199614 flood claims paidThe year of Flooding Associated with Tropical Depression Fran, declared for Montgomery County
  3. 202014 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Perkiomen TownshipMontgomery County only

Montgomery County has had 23 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Perkiomen Township archive →
Next door

Perkiomen Township and its neighbors

Perkiomen Township is 7th of the 10 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Skippack Township: hazard risk ASchwenksville: hazard risk C+Lower Frederick Township: hazard risk B−Upper Salford Township: hazard risk A−Trappe: hazard risk A+Collegeville: hazard risk A−Lower Salford Township: hazard risk AUpper Providence Township: hazard risk B+Limerick Township: hazard risk ASkippack TownshipSchwenksvilleLower Frederick TownshipUpper Salford TownshipTrappeCollegevilleLower Salford TownshipUpper Providence TownshipLimerick TownshipPerkiomen Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
TrappeA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding10
Skippack TownshipAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding97
Limerick TownshipAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding5
Lower Salford TownshipAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding16
Upper Salford TownshipA−less damage than 79%river and rain flooding1
CollegevilleA−less damage than 79%river and rain flooding135
Perkiomen TownshipB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding104
Upper Providence TownshipB+less damage than 71%river and rain flooding418
Lower Frederick TownshipB−more damage than 55%river and rain flooding55
SchwenksvilleC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding15

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 Perkiomen 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 ↗
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 Perkiomen Township

Is Perkiomen Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Perkiomen Township has lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #483 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Perkiomen Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 104 claims in Perkiomen Township since 1978, $3.8M in all, or 33.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 18 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Ida (18).

Is Perkiomen 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 Montgomery County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Perkiomen Township?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Ida: 18 paid, $2.0M.

Is Perkiomen Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Perkiomen Township’s rate for it is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Perkiomen Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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