Natural hazards · Williamstown

Williamstown, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Williamstown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Williamstown?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Williamstown to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding90%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Williamstown faces

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

Inland flooding

90% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Williamstown flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Williamstown.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dauphin County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Williamstown

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WilliamstownDeclared for Dauphin County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

26 households applied for aid $57K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

6 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

9 households applied for aid $13K aid approved

Dauphin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

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