Hamburg is calmer than 76% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hamburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 25 claims here since 1978. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Hamburg’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Hamburg?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 1,763 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.
Hamburg covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Hamburg faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Cold waves
Tornadoes
Does Hamburg flood? Sometimes: 25 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hamburg, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee3 claims · $5K
Hamburg 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.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hamburg
Disasters that paid out in Hamburg itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Hamburg) and its biggest flood years.
- 201810 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee14 households applied for aid$19K aid approved5 flood claims paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides32 households applied for aid$53K aid approved9 flood claims paid that year
Berks County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Hamburg after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hamburg archive →Get ready for what Hamburg actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- 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.
Hamburg and its neighbors
Hamburg ranks 2nd calmest of 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in July–September
The month each of Berks County’s 20 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Hamburg’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Hamburg.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Hamburg, expected losses total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hamburg.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.