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TowercitynorthPhoto: . The original uploader was Bowie60 at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Tower City · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Tower City than in 64% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tower City gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (91%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 91%Hurricanes 4%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

more than 64%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 64% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
91% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 1979 · $5K
Disasters paid out here
3
of 20 declared for Schuylkill County
By hazard

What Tower City 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
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Landslides Hail Cold waves Heat waves 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 Tower City’s grade

River and rain flooding is 91% of the building damage FEMA expects in Tower City, and Tower City’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Tower City sits
Tower City
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding91%Hurricanes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $574K a year in losses across Tower City: $491K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Tower City’s 1,419 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Porter township (2,145 residents) and Reinerton CDP (456 residents) and Muir CDP (429 residents) and Orwin CDP (304 residents) and Tremont township (283 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 town’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 Tower City flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Tower City, from FEMA’s records: 3.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 51% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 1 claim1985: 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: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims19791984
19792026
2
paid claims since 1979
$5K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$3K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Tower City isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Schuylkill County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Tower City

Disasters that paid out in Tower City itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Tower City), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2011Tropical Storm Lee41 households applied for aid$47K aid approved
  2. 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
  3. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan8 households applied for aid$18K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Tower CitySchuylkill County only

Schuylkill County has had 20 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 Tower City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Tower City archive →
Next door

Tower City and its neighbors

Tower City has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Reinerton: not gradedReinertonTower City
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Tower CityC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding2
Reinerton—358 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 Tower City 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 Tower City

Is Tower City at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tower City has higher expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: C+ 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 Tower City flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Tower City since 1979, $5K in all, or 3.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 51% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Tower City 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 Schuylkill County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Tower City?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Tower City’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 Tower City?

By FEMA money that reached Tower City, Tropical Storm Lee (2011): 41 households applied for aid, $47K approved.

Is Tower City at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (91%), and Tower City’s rate for it is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Tower City.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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