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Main St, Walnutport PA 01Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Walnutport · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Walnutport than in 62% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Walnutport 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 (88%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1987.

River and rain flooding 88%Hurricanes 5%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

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
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1987 · $829
Disasters paid out here
5
of 18 declared for Northampton County
By hazard

What Walnutport 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
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

5%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 17 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 Walnutport’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Walnutport, and Walnutport’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 5% (higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Walnutport sits
Walnutport
Least damageMiddleMost damage

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

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Hurricanes5%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $596K a year in losses across Walnutport: $489K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Walnutport’s 2,067 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 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 Walnutport flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1987

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Walnutport, from FEMA’s records: 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 76% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1987: 1 claim1988: 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 claims1987
19872026
1
paid claims since 1987
$829
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$829
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Northampton County.
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Walnutport

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

  1. 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida17 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
  2. 2011Tropical Storm Lee2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
  3. 2011Hurricane Irene6 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
  4. 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides2 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
  5. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan10 households applied for aid$35K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WalnutportNorthampton County only

Northampton County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Walnutport archive →
Next door

Walnutport and its neighbors

Walnutport is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lehigh Township: hazard risk B+Slatington: hazard risk CWashington Township: hazard risk BLehigh TownshipSlatingtonWashington TownshipWalnutport
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Lehigh TownshipB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding7
Washington TownshipBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding6
WalnutportC+more damage than 62%river and rain flooding1
SlatingtonCmore damage than 74%river and rain flooding2

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 Walnutport 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
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 Walnutport

Is Walnutport at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Walnutport 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 (88%) and hurricanes (5%). 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 Walnutport flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Walnutport since 1987, $829 in all, or 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 76% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Walnutport 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 Northampton County, 39% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Walnutport?

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

By FEMA money that reached Walnutport, Tropical Depression Ivan (2004): 10 households applied for aid, $35K approved.

Is Walnutport at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Walnutport’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Walnutport.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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