Natural hazards · Pottstown

Pottstown, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pottstown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 191 claims here since 1978. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pottstown?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pottstown to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding74%Cold waves8%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Pottstown faces

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

Inland flooding

74% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Pottstown flood?

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

191paid claims since 1978

$3.1Mpaid to owners

23homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 54 claims, $149K
Hurricane Isaias: 9 claims, $92K
Tropical Storm Lee: 5 claims, $124K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (2) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Pottstown isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Montgomery County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Pottstown

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PottstownDeclared for Montgomery County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

388 households applied for aid $414K aid approved

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

45 households applied for aid $57K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

119 households applied for aid $168K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

217 households applied for aid $314K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

2 households applied for aid $13K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

Montgomery County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Pottstown

Pottstown and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Pottstownmostly inland floodingModerate

West Pottsgrovemostly inland floodingModerate

Lower Pottsgrovemostly inland floodingLow

North Coventrymostly inland floodingLow

Upper Pottsgrovemostly 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. Pottstown covers 8 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pottstown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Pottstown. 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 Pottstown total about $10.0M 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.