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The Ice Ponds 2Photo: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Rice Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Rice 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, Rice Township gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns, #717 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1996.

River and rain flooding 91%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

less than 54%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#717 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
B−#717 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 54% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1996 · $8K
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 72% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Rice 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

91%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Wildfire Winter storms Hail Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 10% of Rice Township’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Rice Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rice Township, and Rice Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Rice Township sits
Rice Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− #717 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Hurricanes3%Everything else6%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Rice Township has more expected damage per building than 69% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $996K a year in losses across Rice Township: $790K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Rice Township’s 3,632 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Rice Township flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rice Township, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 1 claim1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 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 claims19962004
19962026
Biggest named events
  • Tropical Storm Ivan1 claim · $5K
2
paid claims since 1996
$8K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$4K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Rice 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: Luzerne County.
Disasters

The storms Rice Township remembers

None of the 18 disasters declared for Luzerne County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Rice Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19961 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Luzerne County
  2. 20041 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Luzerne County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Rice TownshipLuzerne County only

Luzerne County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Rice Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Rice Township archive →
Next door

Rice Township and its neighbors

Rice Township is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Wright Township: hazard risk AMountain Top: not gradedNuangola: not gradedFairview Township: hazard risk A−Dorrance Township: hazard risk BWright TownshipMountain TopNuangolaFairview TownshipDorrance TownshipRice Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Wright TownshipAless damage than 92%river and rain flooding23
Fairview TownshipA−less damage than 81%river and rain flooding—
Dorrance TownshipBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding1
Rice TownshipB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding2
Mountain Top—a Census area inside a town; graded with the town
Nuangola—748 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 Rice 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 Rice Township

Is Rice Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rice Township has lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #717 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). 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 Rice Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Rice Township since 1996, $8K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (1).

Is Rice 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 Luzerne County, 53% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Rice Township?

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

By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 paid, $5K.

Is Rice Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Rice Township’s rate for it is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rice Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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