Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0On FEMA’s figures, Plainfield Township faces less hazard damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Plainfield Township gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, #263 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%). 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 Plainfield 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
Hurricanes
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 Plainfield Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Plainfield Township, and Plainfield Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 9% (higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts).
A #263 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Plainfield Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Plainfield Township has less expected damage per building than 75% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Plainfield Township: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Plainfield Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Plainfield Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Plainfield 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: Northampton County.The storms Plainfield Township remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Northampton County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Plainfield Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Northampton County has had 18 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.
Plainfield Township and its neighbors
Plainfield Township is 2nd of the 8 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Gap | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Plainfield Township | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Ross Township | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Bushkill Township | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Washington Township | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Hamilton Township | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 30 |
| Forks Township | C+more damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | 162 |
| Lower Mount Bethel Township | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 228 |
| Stockertown | — | 775 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 Plainfield 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.
- 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.
- 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 Plainfield Township
Is Plainfield Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Plainfield Township has lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #263 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and hurricanes (9%). 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 Plainfield 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 Northampton County, 39% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Plainfield Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Plainfield Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Plainfield Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Plainfield Township’s rate for it is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Plainfield Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Plainfield 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.