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Natural hazards · Bern

Bern, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bern comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1978.

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

How exposed is Bern?

17
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bern to be higher than in 17% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Hurricanes12%Tornadoes7%Cold waves7%Everything else19%
By hazard

What Bern faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 89 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Bern flood?

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

15paid claims since 1978
$207Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Not a named storm: 3 claims, $9K
  • Hurricane Ida: 2 claims, $64K
  • Tropical Storm Lee: 1 claim, $24K

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. Bern 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 Bern

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Berks County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bern itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into BernDeclared for Berks County only
Berks County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Bern

Bern and the towns around it

Lower Heidelberg: Low, mostly inland floodingMuhlenberg: Low, mostly inland floodingOntelaunee: Low, mostly inland floodingSpring: Very low, mostly inland floodingLeesport: Moderate, mostly inland floodingReading: Low, mostly inland floodingWyomissing: Low, mostly inland floodingPenn: Low, mostly inland floodingCentre: Low, mostly inland floodingHeidelberg: Low, mostly inland floodingNorth Heidelberg: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWernersville: Very low, mostly inland floodingSinking Spring: Very low, mostly inland floodingSouth Heidelberg: Very low, mostly inland floodingAlsace: Very low, mostly inland floodingRuscombmanor: Very low, mostly inland floodingMaidencreek: Low, mostly inland floodingPerry: Low, mostly inland floodingCumru: Very low, mostly inland floodingEast Cocalico: Low, mostly inland floodingBrecknock: Low, mostly inland floodingBrecknock: High, mostly inland floodingWest Cocalico: Low, mostly inland floodingWest Reading: Low, mostly inland floodingKenhorst: Low, mostly inland floodingLower Alsace: Low, mostly inland floodingMount Penn: Very low, mostly inland floodingShillington: Low, mostly inland floodingJefferson: Moderate, mostly inland floodingUpper Tulpehocken: Very low, mostly inland floodingBernville: Low, mostly inland floodingShoemakersville: Low, mostly inland floodingUpper Bern: Low, mostly inland floodingTilden: Low, mostly inland floodingBern: Very low, mostly inland flooding BernLower HeidelbergMuhlenbergOntelauneeSpringLeesportReadingWyomissingPennCentre
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Leesportmostly inland floodingModerate
Readingmostly inland floodingLow
Centremostly inland floodingLow
Ontelauneemostly inland floodingLow
Pennmostly inland floodingLow
Lower Heidelbergmostly inland floodingLow
Wyomissingmostly inland floodingLow
Muhlenbergmostly inland floodingLow
Springmostly inland floodingVery low
Bernmostly 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. Bern covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Bern’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Bern. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Bern total about $2.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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You’re in Bern, PABerks CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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