Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Potter Township
Potter Township isn’t graded for hazard risk: Potter Township has 519 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1979.
What Potter 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
Tornadoes
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.
Does Potter Township flood? Sometimes: 10 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Potter Township, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Ivan2 claims · $8K
Potter 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: Beaver County.The storms Potter Township remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Beaver County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Potter Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19963 flood claims paidThe year of Flooding, Severe Storms, declared for Beaver County
- 19792 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20042 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Beaver County
Beaver County has had 12 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Potter Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Potter Township archive →Potter Township and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 61 |
| Raccoon Township | A+less damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Vanport Township | B+less damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Beaver | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Industry | C+more damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Shippingport | — | 159 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 Potter 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Potter Township
Does Potter Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 10 claims in Potter Township since 1979, $50K in all. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (2).
Is Potter 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 Beaver County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Potter Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Potter 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 Potter Township?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 2 paid, $8K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Potter Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Potter 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.