Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Pottsgrove
Pottsgrove isn’t graded for hazard risk: Pottsgrove is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1979.
What Pottsgrove 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
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 Pottsgrove flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pottsgrove, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Floyd1 claim · $1K
Pottsgrove 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.The storms Pottsgrove remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for Montgomery County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pottsgrove itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19791 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19991 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Montgomery County
- 20031 flood claims paidThe year of Snow, declared for Montgomery County
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.
Old photos of Pottsgrove after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pottsgrove archive →Pottsgrove 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Pottsgrove Township | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Lower Pottsgrove Township | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| New Hanover Township | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 52 |
| Pottstown | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 191 |
| Sanatoga | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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 Pottsgrove 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.
- 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 Pottsgrove
Does Pottsgrove flood?
Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Pottsgrove since 1979, $87K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Floyd (1).
Is Pottsgrove 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 Pottsgrove?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pottsgrove’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 Pottsgrove?
By flood claims, Hurricane Floyd: 1 paid, $1K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pottsgrove.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pottsgrove’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.