Natural hazards · Tower

Tower, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Tower comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Tower?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Tower to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding78%Everything else22%

By hazard

What Tower faces

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

Inland flooding

78% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Tower flood?

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

2paid claims since 1979

$5Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 1 claim, $3K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Schuylkill County.

Disasters that hit Tower

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TowerDeclared for Schuylkill County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

1 household applied for aid

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

41 households applied for aid $47K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

8 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

Schuylkill County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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