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Loyalhanna Coal and Coke Company Office, CairnbrookPhoto: Jet Lowe · Public domain
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Shade Township · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Shade Township than in 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Shade Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1983.

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 80%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 80% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1983 · $58K
Flood claims per home
2 per 1,000
fewer than 65% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Shade 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
About average · lower than 50% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Wildfire Ice storms Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 Shade Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Shade Township, and Shade Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 50% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Shade Township sits
Shade Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Everything else9%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $635K a year in losses across Shade Township: $572K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Shade Township’s 2,455 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Central City borough (998 residents) and Cairnbrook CDP (505 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 Shade Township flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1983

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Shade Township, from FEMA’s records: 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1983: 1 claim1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 1 claim2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims19832017
19832026
2
paid claims since 1983
$58K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$29K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Shade 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: Somerset County.
Disasters

The storms Shade Township remembers

None of the 17 disasters declared for Somerset County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Shade Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19831 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20171 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Shade TownshipSomerset County only

Somerset 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Shade Township archive →
Next door

Shade Township and its neighbors

Shade Township is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Ogle Township: not gradedQuemahoning Township: hazard risk A−Paint Township: hazard risk A+Allegheny Township: not gradedStonycreek Township: hazard risk AHooversville: not gradedJuniata Township: not gradedNapier Township: hazard risk C+Ogle TownshipQuemahoning TownshipPaint TownshipAllegheny TownshipStonycreek TownshipHooversvilleJuniata TownshipNapier TownshipShade Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Paint TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding3
Stonycreek TownshipAless damage than 94%river and rain flooding5
Shade TownshipA−less damage than 80%river and rain flooding2
Quemahoning TownshipA−less damage than 76%river and rain flooding27
Napier TownshipC+more damage than 60%river and rain flooding3
Ogle Township—454 residents; we grade 1,000+
Allegheny Township—786 residents; we grade 1,000+
Hooversville—666 residents; we grade 1,000+
Juniata Township—776 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 Shade 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 Shade Township

Is Shade Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Shade Township has lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. 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 Shade Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Shade Township since 1983, $58K in all, or 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Shade 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 Somerset County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Shade Township?

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

Is Shade Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Shade Township’s rate for it is lower than 50% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Shade Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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