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Mount Pisgah County Park (1)Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Springfield Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Springfield Township faces more hazard damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Springfield Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). Flood insurance has paid 269 claims here since 1978.

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 62%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Pennsylvania · higher than 62% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
95% of expected building damage
Flood claims
269
paid since 1978 · $4.5M
Flooded more than once
40
properties · 17 “severe repetitive loss”
Flood claims per home
426 per 1,000
more than 99% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Springfield Township’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

By hazard

What Springfield 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 82% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Hail Wildfire Winter 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 Springfield Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Springfield Township, and Springfield Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Springfield Township sits
Springfield Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Springfield 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 $501K a year in losses across Springfield Township: $436K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Springfield Township’s 1,144 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Smithfield township (1,457 residents) and Ulster township (1,310 residents) and Ulster CDP (212 residents) and East Smithfield CDP (159 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 Springfield Township flood? Yes: 269 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Springfield Township, from FEMA’s records: 426.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 99% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 4 claims1979: 6 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 1 claim1983: 1 claim1984: 4 claims1985: 3 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 3 claims1990: 2 claims1991: 2 claims1992: 1 claim1993: 5 claims1994: 6 claims1995: 1 claim1996: 18 claims1997: 3 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 33 claims2000: 3 claims2001: 19 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 1 claim2004: 41 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 1 claim2008: 1 claim2009: 15 claims2010: 14 claims2011: 36 claims2012: 1 claim2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 6 claims2019: 5 claims2020: 21 claims2021: 6 claims2022: 2 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 3 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199920042011
19782026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Floyd29 claims · $680K
  • Tropical Storm Allison19 claims · $135K
  • Hurricane Isaias18 claims · $681K
269
paid claims since 1978
$4.5M
paid to owners
40
homes flooded more than once
$17K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (17)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Springfield 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: Bradford County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
6flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

The storms Springfield Township remembers

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

  1. 200441 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Bradford County
  2. 201136 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Bradford County
  3. 199933 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Springfield TownshipBradford County only

Bradford County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Springfield Township archive →
Next door

Springfield Township and its neighbors

Springfield Township is 2nd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Smithfield TownshipC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding32
Springfield TownshipC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding269
Ridgebury TownshipC−more damage than 80%river and rain flooding33
Troy TownshipC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding18
Columbia TownshipC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding13
West Burlington Township—662 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 Springfield 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 Springfield Township

Is Springfield Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Springfield Township has higher expected damage per building than 62% 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.

Does Springfield Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 269 claims in Springfield Township since 1978, $4.5M in all, or 426.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 99% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 40 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Floyd (29).

Is Springfield 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 Bradford County, 26% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Springfield Township?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Floyd: 29 paid, $680K.

Is Springfield Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Springfield Township’s rate for it is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Springfield Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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