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Liberty Grange 1780Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Scott Township · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Scott Township as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Scott Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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

more than 59%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Scott 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Earthquakes Hurricanes 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 Scott Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Scott Township, and Scott Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Scott Township sits
Scott Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding95%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $573K a year in losses across Scott Township: $528K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Scott Township’s 2,176 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Plain Grove township (777 residents) and Washington township (711 residents) and Harlansburg CDP (150 residents) and Volant borough (126 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 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 Scott Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Scott Township. 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

Scott 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: Lawrence County.
Disasters

The storms Scott Township remembers

None of the 9 disasters declared for Lawrence County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Scott Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Scott TownshipLawrence County only

Lawrence County has had 9 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Next door

Scott Township and its neighbors

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

Slippery Rock Township: hazard risk BPlain Grove Township: not gradedHickory Township: hazard risk B−Washington Township: not gradedSlippery Rock TownshipPlain Grove TownshipHickory TownshipWashington TownshipScott Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Slippery Rock TownshipBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding—
Hickory TownshipB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding20
Scott TownshipC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding0
Plain Grove Township—751 residents; we grade 1,000+
Washington Township—654 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 Scott 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 Scott Township

Is Scott Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Scott Township has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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 Scott 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 Lawrence County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Scott Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Scott Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Scott Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Scott Township’s rate for it is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Scott Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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