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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Venango Township · FEMA

FEMA puts Venango Township’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 84% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Venango Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2007.

River and rain flooding 96%Tornadoes 1%Strong wind 1%

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 84%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 84% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
96% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2007 · $4K
Flooded more than once
1
properties
Flood claims per home
2 per 1,000
fewer than 58% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Venango 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

96%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Hurricanes Winter storms Earthquakes Hail Ice storms Wildfire 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 Venango Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Venango Township, and Venango Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Venango Township sits
Venango Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding96%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $793K a year in losses across Venango Township: $697K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Venango Township’s 2,256 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Wattsburg borough (353 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 Venango Township flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2007

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Venango Township, from FEMA’s records: 2.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 58% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2007: 1 claim2008: 1 claim2009: 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 claims20072008
20072026
2
paid claims since 2007
$4K
paid to owners
1
homes flooded more than once
$2K
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

Venango 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: Erie County.
Disasters

The storms Venango Township remembers

None of the 8 disasters declared for Erie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Venango Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20071 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20081 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Venango TownshipErie County only

Erie County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Venango Township archive →
Next door

Venango Township and its neighbors

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

Wattsburg: not gradedGreenfield Township: hazard risk B+Greene Township: hazard risk AAmity Township: not gradedFrench Creek: not gradedWattsburgGreenfield TownshipGreene TownshipAmity TownshipFrench CreekVenango Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Greene TownshipAless damage than 95%river and rain flooding—
Greenfield TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding—
Venango TownshipC−more damage than 84%river and rain flooding2
Wattsburg—341 residents; we grade 1,000+
Amity Township—976 residents; we grade 1,000+
French Creek—976 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 Venango 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 Venango Township

Is Venango Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Venango Township has higher expected damage per building than 84% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). 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 Venango Township flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Venango Township since 2007, $4K in all, or 2.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 58% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Venango 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 Erie County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Venango Township?

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

Is Venango Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Venango Township’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Venango Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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