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 4.0FEMA puts Williamstown’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Williamstown 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%). 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
What Williamstown 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 Williamstown’s grade
River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Williamstown, and Williamstown’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 Williamstown’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Williamstown: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Williamstown flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Williamstown. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Williamstown 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.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Williamstown
Disasters that paid out in Williamstown itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Williamstown), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee26 households applied for aid$57K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides6 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan9 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
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 Williamstown after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Williamstown archive →Get ready for what Williamstown 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 Williamstown
Is Williamstown at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Williamstown 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.
Is Williamstown 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 Williamstown?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Williamstown’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 Williamstown?
By FEMA money that reached Williamstown, Tropical Storm Lee (2011): 26 households applied for aid, $57K approved.
Is Williamstown at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Williamstown’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Williamstown.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Williamstown’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.