Natural hazards · Reading

Reading, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Reading comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 156 claims here since 1978.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Reading?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Reading to be higher than in 45% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Hurricanes10%Drought6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Reading faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Reading flood?

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

156paid claims since 1978

$2.7Mpaid to owners

16homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 14 claims, $227K
Hurricane Ida: 11 claims, $340K
Hurricane Sandy: 11 claims, $246K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (11) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Adams County.

Disasters that hit Reading

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into ReadingDeclared for Adams County only

Adams County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Reading

Reading and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

East Berlinmostly inland floodingModerate

Readingmostly inland floodingModerate

Latimoremostly inland floodingModerate

Hamiltonmostly inland floodingLow

Washingtonmostly inland floodingLow

Mount Pleasantmostly inland floodingLow

Tyronemostly inland floodingVery low

Huntingtonmostly inland floodingVery low

Strabanmostly 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. Reading covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Reading’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Reading. 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 Reading total about $1.8M 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.