Chesterfield is calmer than 70% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chesterfield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Chesterfield’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Chesterfield?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 30% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.
Calmer than 1,429 of the 1,977 Indiana towns we cover.
Chesterfield covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Does Chesterfield flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Chesterfield. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Chesterfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Madison County.What Chesterfield faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Cold waves
Earthquakes
Strong wind
7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chesterfield
Disasters that paid out in Chesterfield itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Chesterfield) and its biggest flood years.
- 2014Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$5K to the Town of Chesterfield for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes1 household applied for aid$2K to the Town of Chesterfield for repairs
- 2007Snow$6K to the Town of Chesterfield for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms and Flooding22 households applied for aid$13K aid approved$17K to the Town of Chesterfield for repairs
- 2004Snow$3K to the Town of Chesterfield for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding2 households applied for aid
Show all 7
- 1999In-Winter Storm 12/23/98$3K to the Town of Chesterfield for repairs
Madison County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Chesterfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chesterfield archive →Get ready for what Chesterfield actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Chesterfield and its neighbors
Chesterfield has the lowest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in January–March
The month each of Madison County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Chesterfield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Chesterfield.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Chesterfield, expected losses total about $615K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chesterfield.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.