Natural hazards · Bernville

Bernville, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bernville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bernville?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bernville to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding58%Hurricanes11%Cold waves7%Drought5%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Bernville faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 19 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

Drought

5% of expected damage

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Bernville flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bernville.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Bernville 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 Bernville

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BernvilleDeclared for Berks County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

30 households applied for aid $73K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

39 households applied for aid $96K aid approved

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

Around Bernville

Bernville and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Jeffersonmostly inland floodingModerate

Bernvillemostly inland floodingLow

Pennmostly inland floodingLow

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. Bernville 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 Bernville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Bernville. 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.