Natural hazards · Schuylkill

Schuylkill, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Schuylkill comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 34 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Schuylkill?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Schuylkill to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding73%Tornadoes5%Everything else22%

By hazard

What Schuylkill faces

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

Inland flooding

73% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Schuylkill flood?

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

34paid claims since 1979

$720Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Floyd: 15 claims, $293K
Hurricane Ida: 5 claims, $123K
Not a named storm: 3 claims, $1K

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. Schuylkill 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.

Disasters that hit Schuylkill

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into SchuylkillDeclared for Chester County only

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

Around Schuylkill

Schuylkill and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Phoenixvillemostly inland floodingModerate

Upper Merionmostly inland floodingLow

Upper Providencemostly inland floodingLow

Schuylkillmostly inland floodingLow

Tredyffrinmostly inland floodingVery low

Lower Providencemostly inland floodingVery low

Charlestownmostly 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. Schuylkill covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Schuylkill’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Schuylkill. 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 Schuylkill total about $3.3M 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.