Natural hazards · Bowling Green

Bowling Green, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bowling Green comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Bowling Green?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bowling Green to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding54%Tornadoes10%Strong wind8%Earthquakes7%Cold waves7%Drought6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Bowling Green faces

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

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Bowling Green flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clay County.

Disasters that hit Bowling Green

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Bowling Green itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Bowling Green.

Brought FEMA money into Bowling GreenDeclared for Clay County only

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

22 households applied for aid $69K aid approved

2005

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $752 aid approved

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

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. Bowling Green 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 Bowling Green’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Bowling Green. 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.