Natural hazards · Lower Alsace

Lower Alsace, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lower Alsace comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1987.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lower Alsace?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lower Alsace to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Cold waves11%Hurricanes10%Tornadoes7%Heat waves6%Strong wind6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Lower Alsace faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Lower Alsace flood?

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

12paid claims since 1987

$462Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19872026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Floyd: 1 claim, $1K
Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $4K

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. Lower Alsace 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 Lower Alsace

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into Lower AlsaceDeclared for Berks County only

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

Around Lower Alsace

Lower Alsace and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Readingmostly inland floodingLow

St. Lawrencemostly inland floodingLow

Lower Alsacemostly inland floodingLow

Exetermostly inland floodingLow

Cumrumostly inland floodingVery low

Mount Pennmostly inland floodingVery low

Alsacemostly 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. Lower Alsace covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lower Alsace’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Lower Alsace. 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 Lower Alsace total about $1.5M 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.