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Palm Schwenkfelder Church, Palm PA 01Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Upper Hanover Township · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Upper Hanover Township than in 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Upper Hanover Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, #563 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1999.

River and rain flooding 89%Tornadoes 4%Earthquakes 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 68%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#563 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania
Hazard risk
B+#563 of 1,037
in Pennsylvania · lower than 68% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
6
paid since 1999 · $168K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Flood claims per home
2 per 1,000
fewer than 64% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Upper Hanover 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

89%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Hurricanes Strong wind Winter storms Hail Lightning Wildfire Ice storms 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 8% of Upper Hanover 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 Upper Hanover Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Upper Hanover Township, and Upper Hanover Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Upper Hanover Township sits
Upper Hanover Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #563 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Tornadoes4%Earthquakes3%Everything else4%

The typical Pennsylvania town has lower expected damage than 71% of U.S. towns; within the state, Upper Hanover Township has more expected damage per building than 54% of Pennsylvania towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.4M a year in losses across Upper Hanover Township: $2.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Upper Hanover Township’s 8,350 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 Upper Hanover Township flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 1999

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Upper Hanover Township, from FEMA’s records: 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 64% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 1 claim2006: 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: 2 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 1 claim199920052019
19992026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Floyd1 claim · $3K
  • Hurricane Isaias1 claim · $3K
6
paid claims since 1999
$168K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$28K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Upper Hanover 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: Montgomery County.
Disasters

The storms Upper Hanover Township remembers

None of the 23 disasters declared for Montgomery County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Upper Hanover Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20192 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 19991 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Montgomery County
  3. 20051 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Upper Hanover TownshipMontgomery County only

Montgomery County has had 23 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 Upper Hanover Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Upper Hanover Township archive →
Next door

Upper Hanover Township and its neighbors

Upper Hanover Township is 4th of the 8 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Milford Township: hazard risk AHereford Township: hazard risk BMarlborough Township: hazard risk B−Douglass Township: hazard risk BLower Milford Township: hazard risk A−New Hanover Township: hazard risk BUpper Frederick Township: hazard risk AMilford TownshipHereford TownshipMarlborough TownshipDouglass TownshipLower Milford TownshipNew Hanover TownshipUpper Frederick TownshipUpper Hanover Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Milford TownshipAless damage than 93%river and rain flooding25
Upper Frederick TownshipAless damage than 85%river and rain flooding6
Lower Milford TownshipA−less damage than 77%river and rain flooding2
Upper Hanover TownshipB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding6
Douglass TownshipBless damage than 63%river and rain flooding9
Hereford TownshipBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding1
New Hanover TownshipBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding52
Marlborough TownshipB−more damage than 50%river and rain flooding52

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 Upper Hanover 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 Upper Hanover Township

Is Upper Hanover Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Upper Hanover Township has lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #563 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). 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 Upper Hanover Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Upper Hanover Township since 1999, $168K in all, or 1.8 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 64% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Floyd (1).

Is Upper Hanover 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 Montgomery County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Upper Hanover Township?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Floyd: 1 paid, $3K.

Is Upper Hanover Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Upper Hanover Township’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Upper Hanover Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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