Photo: BigCheddah · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Reading faces less hazard damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Reading gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns, #661 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%), then hurricanes (11%). Flood insurance has paid 88 claims here since 1978.
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 stands out about Reading’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Reading 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
Earthquakes
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 Reading’s grade
River and rain flooding is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Reading, and Reading’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 11% (higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts).
B #661 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Reading’s residents live in 28 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Reading has more expected damage per building than 64% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $21.5M a year in losses across Reading: $15.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Reading flood? Sometimes: 88 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Reading, from FEMA’s records: 2.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 57% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Tropical Storm Lee3 claims · $37K
- Hurricane Floyd2 claims · $2K
Reading isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Berks County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Reading
Disasters that paid out in Reading itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Reading), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee164 households applied for aid$166K aid approved3 flood claims paid for it, $37K
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides151 households applied for aid$207K aid approved27 flood claims paid that year
Berks County has had 19 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 Reading after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Reading archive →Reading and its neighbors
Reading is 8th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumru Township | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Bern Township | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| West Reading | A−less damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Muhlenberg Township | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 134 |
| Wyomissing | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 17 |
| Lower Alsace Township | B+less damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Kenhorst | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Reading | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 88 |
| Grill | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Greenfields | — | 986 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Hyde Park | — | 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 Reading 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Reading
Is Reading at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Reading has lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #661 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%) and hurricanes (11%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Reading flood?
Flood insurance has paid 88 claims in Reading since 1978, $5.4M in all, or 2.4 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 57% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 7 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (3).
Is Reading 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 Berks County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Reading?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Reading’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 Reading?
By FEMA money that reached Reading, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2006): 151 households applied for aid, $207K approved. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 3 paid, $37K.
Is Reading at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Reading’s rate for it is higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Reading.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Reading’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.