Natural hazards · Union

Union, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Union comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 30 claims here since 1978.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Union?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Union to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding67%Hurricanes10%Cold waves5%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Union faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Union flood?

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

30paid claims since 1978

$856Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 8 claims, $110K
Not a named storm: 2 claims, $32K
Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $25K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Union 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 Union

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into UnionDeclared for Berks County only

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

Around Union

Union and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Birdsboromostly inland floodingModerate

Unionmostly inland floodingModerate

Amitymostly inland floodingLow

Douglassmostly inland floodingLow

North Coventrymostly inland floodingLow

Robesonmostly inland floodingLow

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. Union covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Union’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Union. 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 Union total about $1.6M 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.