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Highacres1998Photo: Margaretta Lovell · CC BY-SA 4.0
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Sugarloaf Township · FEMA

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

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sugarloaf Township gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, #375 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1996.

River and rain flooding 88%Hurricanes 4%Tornadoes 3%

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#375 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
A−#375 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1996 · $15K
Disasters paid out here
4
of 18 declared for Luzerne County
By hazard

What Sugarloaf 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

88%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Hail Wildfire Lightning 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 cold waves at 10% of Sugarloaf Township’s expected losses. Cold 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 Sugarloaf Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sugarloaf Township, and Sugarloaf Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sugarloaf Township sits
Sugarloaf Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− #375 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Hurricanes4%Tornadoes3%Everything else4%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Sugarloaf Township has less expected damage per building than 64% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across Sugarloaf Township: $830K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sugarloaf Township’s 3,846 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 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 Sugarloaf Township flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1996

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sugarloaf Township, from FEMA’s records: 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1996: 1 claim1997: 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: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims19962011
19962026
2
paid claims since 1996
$15K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$8K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Sugarloaf 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: Luzerne County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sugarloaf Township

Disasters that paid out in Sugarloaf Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Sugarloaf Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2011Tropical Storm Lee5 households applied for aid$27K aid approved
  2. 2011Hurricane Irene1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  3. 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides25 households applied for aid$67K aid approved
  4. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan25 households applied for aid$44K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Sugarloaf TownshipLuzerne County only

Luzerne County has had 18 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 Sugarloaf Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Sugarloaf Township archive →
Next door

Sugarloaf Township and its neighbors

Sugarloaf Township is 2nd of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Butler Township: hazard risk B+Hollenback Township: hazard risk CNescopeck Township: hazard risk CBlack Creek Township: hazard risk C+Hazle Township: hazard risk A+Butler TownshipHollenback TownshipNescopeck TownshipBlack Creek TownshipHazle TownshipSugarloaf Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Hazle TownshipA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding5
Sugarloaf TownshipA−less damage than 82%river and rain flooding2
Butler TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding4
Black Creek TownshipC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding8
Hollenback TownshipCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding1
Nescopeck TownshipCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding73

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 Sugarloaf 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 Sugarloaf Township

Is Sugarloaf Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sugarloaf Township has lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #375 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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 Sugarloaf Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Sugarloaf Township since 1996, $15K in all, or 1.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 72% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Sugarloaf 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 Luzerne County, 53% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Sugarloaf Township?

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

By FEMA money that reached Sugarloaf Township, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2006): 25 households applied for aid, $67K approved.

Is Sugarloaf Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Sugarloaf Township’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sugarloaf Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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