Natural hazards · Chalmers

Chalmers, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chalmers comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2003. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chalmers?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chalmers to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding48%Cold waves18%Tornadoes14%Strong wind6%Hail5%Earthquakes5%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Chalmers faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 22 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Chalmers flood?

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

3paid claims since 2003

$32Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20032026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: White County.

Disasters that hit Chalmers

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChalmersDeclared for White County only

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

10 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $776 aid approved

2007

Snow

$2K to the Town of Chalmers for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $4K to the Town of Chalmers for repairs

2000

Snow

$982 to the Town of Chalmers for repairs

1999

In-Winter Storm 12/23/98

$2K to the Town of Chalmers for repairs

White 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. Chalmers 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 Chalmers’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Chalmers. 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.

Chalmers, IN natural hazards

How exposed is Chalmers?

What Chalmers faces

Inland flooding

Cold waves

Tornadoes

Strong wind

Hail

Earthquakes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Chalmers flood?

Homes that flooded again and again

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

Severe Storms and Flooding

Snow

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Snow

In-Winter Storm 12/23/98

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

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