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Natural hazards in Nottingham · FEMA

Nottingham is calmer than 89% of U.S. communities

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Nottingham comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

11Very low riskLowerHigherExpected storm and flood damage, vs. U.S. communities
Overall risk
Very low
higher than 11% of U.S. places
Main hazard
Inland flooding
39% of expected damage
Flood claims
0
none on record
Disasters paid out here
0
of 22 declared for Chester County

What stands out about Nottingham’s weather risks

Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Expected damage

How exposed is Nottingham?

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 11% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Where Nottingham sits
Nottingham
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Calmer than 2,226 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.

Nottingham is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

What drives the damage
Inland flooding39%Drought29%Hurricanes9%Everything else23%
Flood insurance claims

Does Nottingham flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Nottingham. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Chester County.
By hazard

What Nottingham faces

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

Inland flooding

39%of expected damage
Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

29%of expected damage
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9%of expected damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area
Lower here
🌪️ Tornadoes🧊 Hail🧊 Ice storms❄️ Winter weather🥶 Cold waves🌡️ Heat waves🔥 Wildfire🏚️ Earthquakes⛰️ Landslides💨 Strong wind⚡ Lightning
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.
Storms remembered

Federal disasters declared here

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

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in NottinghamChester County only

Chester County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Be ready

Get ready for what Nottingham actually faces

A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Drought
  • On a well? Know how deep it is and watch for sputtering.
  • Follow the town’s watering limits.
  • Fix drips: they add up.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Next door

Nottingham and its neighbors

Nottingham has the lowest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
TownRatingMostlyFlood claims
East NottinghamLowinland flooding2
NottinghamVery lowinland flooding0
West NottinghamVery lowinland flooding1

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.

Storm season

Most disasters here begin in August–September

The month each of Chester County’s 22 declared disasters began, since 1953.

4J
3F
1M
A
M
2J
1J
4A
6S
1O
N
D
HurricanesFloodsSevere stormsWinter stormsDroughtsIce storms
How to read this page

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 Nottingham’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Nottingham.
  • 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.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Nottingham.

Town Square →
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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.

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