Natural hazards · Center

Center, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Center comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1983.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Center?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Center to be higher than in 11% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes25%Cold waves25%Strong wind5%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Center faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

25% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Cold waves

25% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Center flood?

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

16paid claims since 1983

$237Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ike: 7 claims, $142K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Porter County.

Disasters that hit Center

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into CenterDeclared for Porter County only

Porter County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Center

Center and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Libertymostly inland floodingLow

Unionmostly inland floodingVery low

Centermostly inland floodingVery low

Washingtonmostly 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. Center covers 12 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Center’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Center. 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 Center total about $13.8M 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.