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Franklin north of Main in ProspectPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Prospect · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Prospect than in 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prospect gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2004.

River and rain flooding 92%Tornadoes 4%Strong wind 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

less than 91%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A
in Pennsylvania · lower than 91% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2004 · $80K
Flood claims per home
4 per 1,000
more than 56% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Prospect 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

92%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Hurricanes Hail Winter storms Wildfire Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Prospect’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Prospect, and Prospect’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Prospect sits
Prospect
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Tornadoes4%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $221K a year in losses across Prospect: $199K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Prospect’s 1,123 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Franklin township (2,598 residents) and Muddy Creek township (2,207 residents) and Lake Arthur Estates CDP (494 residents) and Portersville borough (231 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 town’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 Prospect flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2004

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Prospect, from FEMA’s records: 4.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 56% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 1 claim2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20042010
20042026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan1 claim · $61K
2
paid claims since 2004
$80K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$40K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Prospect isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Butler County.
Disasters

The storms Prospect remembers

None of the 8 disasters declared for Butler County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Prospect itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20041 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Butler County
  2. 20101 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms, declared for Butler County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ProspectButler County only

Butler County has had 8 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 Prospect after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Prospect archive →
Next door

Prospect and its neighbors

Prospect is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Franklin Township: hazard risk AFranklin TownshipProspect
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Franklin TownshipAless damage than 91%river and rain flooding—
ProspectAless damage than 91%river and rain flooding2

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 Prospect 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 Prospect

Is Prospect at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prospect has lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Prospect flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Prospect since 2004, $80K in all, or 4.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 56% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (1).

Is Prospect 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 Butler County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Prospect?

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

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 paid, $61K.

Is Prospect at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Prospect’s rate for it is lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Prospect.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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