Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Salem Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salem Township gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #145 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Salem 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
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 Salem Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Salem Township, and Salem Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
A #145 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Salem Township’s residents live in 2 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, Salem Township has less expected damage per building than 86% of Pennsylvania towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Salem Township: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Salem Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Salem Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Salem 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: Westmoreland County.The storms Salem Township remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Westmoreland County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Salem Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Westmoreland County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Salem Township and its neighbors
Salem Township is 6th of the 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hempfield Township | A+among the lowest damage | river and rain flooding | 93 |
| Delmont | A+among the lowest damage | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Unity Township | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 89 |
| Penn Township | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 276 |
| Derry Township | A+less damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Salem Township | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Loyalhanna Township | Aless damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Washington Township | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Murrysville | Aless damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 49 |
| Bell Township | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | — |
| New Alexandria | — | 448 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.
Get ready for what Salem 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.
- 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 Salem Township
Is Salem Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salem Township has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #145 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Salem 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 Westmoreland County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Salem Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Salem Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Salem Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Salem Township’s rate for it is lower than 68% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salem Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Salem 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.