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Schoen WatertowerPhoto: Smallbones · Public domain
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Rose Valley · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Rose Valley faces less hazard damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rose Valley gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 82%Hurricanes 5%Earthquakes 5%

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 82%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 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
1
of 19 declared for Delaware County
By hazard

What Rose Valley 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

82%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

5%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Earthquakes

5%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Hail Wildfire 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 heat waves at 9% of Rose Valley’s expected losses. Heat 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 Rose Valley’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rose Valley, and Rose Valley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 5% (higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Rose Valley sits
Rose Valley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Hurricanes5%Earthquakes5%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $242K a year in losses across Rose Valley: $177K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Rose Valley’s 1,017 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 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 Rose Valley flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Rose Valley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Delaware County.
Disasters

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Rose Valley

Disasters that paid out in Rose Valley itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Rose Valley), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2011Hurricane Irene2 households applied for aid$880 aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Rose ValleyDelaware County only

Delaware County has had 19 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 Rose Valley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Rose Valley archive →
Next door

Rose Valley and its neighbors

Rose Valley is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Nether Providence Township: hazard risk AMiddletown Township: hazard risk ABrookhaven: hazard risk BNether Providence TownshipMiddletown TownshipBrookhavenRose Valley
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Middletown TownshipAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding41
Nether Providence TownshipAless damage than 86%river and rain flooding17
Rose ValleyA−less damage than 82%river and rain flooding0
BrookhavenBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding53

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 Rose Valley 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Rose Valley

Is Rose Valley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rose Valley has lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) and hurricanes (5%). 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.

Is Rose Valley 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 Delaware County, 39% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Rose Valley?

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

By FEMA money that reached Rose Valley, Hurricane Irene (2011): 2 households applied for aid, $880 approved.

Is Rose Valley at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Rose Valley’s rate for it is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rose Valley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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