Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to West Mahoning Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in West Mahoning Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, West Mahoning Township faces less hazard damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, West Mahoning Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

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
By hazard

What West Mahoning 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

92%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hurricanes Strong wind Hail Earthquakes Wildfire Ice storms Landslides Winter storms 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 West Mahoning Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in West Mahoning Township, and West Mahoning Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts.

Where West Mahoning Township sits
West Mahoning Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $385K a year in losses across West Mahoning Township: $316K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of West Mahoning Township’s 1,324 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with South Mahoning township (1,825 residents) and East Mahoning township (965 residents) and Marion Center borough (405 residents) and Plumville borough (255 residents) and Smicksburg borough (56 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 West Mahoning Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in West Mahoning Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

West Mahoning 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: Indiana County.
Disasters

The storms West Mahoning Township remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Indiana County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching West Mahoning Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in West Mahoning TownshipIndiana County only

Indiana County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Next door

West Mahoning Township and its neighbors

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

North Mahoning Township: hazard risk A−South Mahoning Township: hazard risk B+Porter Township: not gradedWayne Township: hazard risk CEast Mahoning Township: not gradedNorth Mahoning TownshipSouth Mahoning TownshipPorter TownshipWayne TownshipEast Mahoning TownshipWest Mahoning Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
North Mahoning TownshipA−less damage than 81%river and rain flooding—
South Mahoning TownshipB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding6
West Mahoning TownshipB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding0
Wayne TownshipCmore damage than 72%river and rain flooding72
Porter Township—318 residents; we grade 1,000+
East Mahoning Township—951 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 West Mahoning 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 West Mahoning Township

Is West Mahoning Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, West Mahoning Township has lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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.

Is West Mahoning 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 Indiana County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in West Mahoning Township?

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

Is West Mahoning Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and West Mahoning Township’s rate for it is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in West Mahoning Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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