Natural hazards · Ontelaunee

Ontelaunee, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ontelaunee comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 37 claims here since 1978.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ontelaunee?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ontelaunee to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding69%Hurricanes9%Earthquakes5%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Ontelaunee faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Ontelaunee flood?

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

37paid claims since 1978

$284Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 13 claims, $22K
Hurricane Isaias: 2 claims, $53K
Hurricane Floyd: 1 claim, $8K

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. Ontelaunee 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 Ontelaunee

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into OntelauneeDeclared for Berks County only

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

Around Ontelaunee

Ontelaunee and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Leesportmostly inland floodingModerate

Centremostly inland floodingLow

Maidencreekmostly inland floodingLow

Ontelauneemostly inland floodingLow

Perrymostly inland floodingLow

Muhlenbergmostly inland floodingLow

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