Natural hazards · Bechtelsville

Bechtelsville, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bechtelsville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2004. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Bechtelsville?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bechtelsville to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Hurricanes7%Cold waves6%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Bechtelsville faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Bechtelsville flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bechtelsville, from FEMA’s records.

7paid claims since 2004

$122Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20042026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isaias: 3 claims, $20K
Tropical Storm Lee: 1 claim, $77K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $12K

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

Insurance rates: Berks County.

Disasters that hit Bechtelsville

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Bechtelsville itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Borough of Bechtelsville.

Brought FEMA money into BechtelsvilleDeclared for Berks County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

1 household applied for aid

Berks County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Bechtelsville

Bechtelsville and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bechtelsvillemostly inland floodingModerate

Washingtonmostly inland floodingModerate

Colebrookdalemostly inland floodingVery low

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Bechtelsville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Bechtelsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Bechtelsville. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.