Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Williams Township than in 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Williams Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). Flood insurance has paid 117 claims here since 1979.
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
What stands out about Williams Township’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Williams 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
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.
What’s behind Williams Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Williams Township, and Williams Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
C− higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Williams Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Williams Township: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Williams Township flood? Yes: 117 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Williams Township, from FEMA’s records: 219.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Tropical Storm Ivan30 claims · $1.3M
- The Torrential rain8 claims · $412K
- Hurricane Irene2 claims · $16K
Williams 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: Dauphin County.The storms Williams Township remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Dauphin County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Williams Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 200535 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 200632 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides, declared for Dauphin County
- 200430 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Dauphin County
Dauphin County has had 17 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.
Old photos of Williams Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Williams Township archive →Williams Township and its neighbors
Williams Township is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Township | B+less damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Hegins Township | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Porter Township | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Williams Township | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 117 |
| Wiconisco Township | D−more damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
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.
Get ready for what Williams 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Williams Township
Is Williams Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Williams Township has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). 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 Williams Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 117 claims in Williams Township since 1979, $4.6M in all, or 219.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 98% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 28 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (30).
Is Williams 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 Dauphin County, 26% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Williams Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Williams 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 Williams Township?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 30 paid, $1.3M.
Is Williams Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Williams Township’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Williams Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Williams 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.