Natural hazards · Colfax

Colfax, IN natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Colfax to be higher than in 26% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes17%Cold waves10%Hail9%Strong wind8%Earthquakes7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Colfax 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 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year 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

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesIce 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 Colfax flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clinton County.

Disasters that hit Colfax

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColfaxDeclared for Clinton County only

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

10 households applied for aid

2007

Snow

$5K to the Town of Colfax for repairs

2005

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $3K aid approved $6K to the Town of Colfax for repairs

Clinton County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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