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C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Porter Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Porter Township faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Porter Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). Flood insurance has paid 88 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 93%Hurricanes 3%Tornadoes 2%

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

more than 57%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Pennsylvania · higher than 57% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
93% of expected building damage
Flood claims
88
paid since 1978 · $757K
Flooded more than once
14
properties
Disasters paid out here
5
of 11 declared for Clarion County
By hazard

What Porter 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

93%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Hail Winter storms Wildfire Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Porter Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Porter Township, and Porter Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Porter Township sits
Porter Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding93%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $601K a year in losses across Porter Township: $517K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Porter Township’s 1,289 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Monroe township (1,487 residents) and New Bethlehem borough (978 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 Porter Township flood? Sometimes: 88 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Porter Township, from FEMA’s records: 158.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 2 claims1979: 2 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 11 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 1 claim1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 4 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 19 claims1997: 6 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 2 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 34 claims2005: 1 claim2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 1 claim2011: 2 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims198419962004
19782026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan30 claims · $380K
  • The March 2010 nor’easter1 claim · $3K
88
paid claims since 1978
$757K
paid to owners
14
homes flooded more than once
$9K
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

Porter 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: Clarion County.
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Porter Township

Disasters that paid out in Porter Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Porter Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2016Severe Storms and Flooding$3K to Porter Township for repairs
  2. 2011Tropical Storm Lee$890 to Porter Township for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $6K
  3. 2011Severe Storms and Flooding$43K to Porter Township for repairs
  4. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan$49K to Porter Township for repairs30 flood claims paid for it, $380K
  5. 2003Snow$3K to Porter Township for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Porter TownshipClarion County only

Clarion County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, 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 Porter Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Porter Township archive →
Next door

Porter Township and its neighbors

Porter Township is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Mahoning Township: hazard risk CMadison Township: not gradedDistant: not gradedNew Bethlehem: not gradedSouth Bethlehem: not gradedMadison Township: hazard risk C−Redbank Township: hazard risk B−Monroe Township: hazard risk C+Mahoning TownshipMadison TownshipDistantNew BethlehemSouth BethlehemMadison TownshipRedbank TownshipMonroe TownshipPorter Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Redbank TownshipB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding—
Monroe TownshipC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding—
Porter TownshipC+more damage than 57%river and rain flooding88
Mahoning TownshipCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding17
Madison TownshipC−more damage than 81%river and rain flooding1
Madison Township—991 residents; we grade 1,000+
Distant—606 residents; we grade 1,000+
New Bethlehem—957 residents; we grade 1,000+
South Bethlehem—382 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 Porter 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 Porter Township

Is Porter Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Porter Township has higher expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). 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 Porter Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 88 claims in Porter Township since 1978, $757K in all, or 158.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 14 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (30).

Is Porter 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 Clarion County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Porter Township?

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

By FEMA money that reached Porter Township, Tropical Depression Ivan (2004): $49K to Porter Township for repairs. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 30 paid, $380K.

Is Porter Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Porter Township’s rate for it is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Porter Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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