Converse’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Converse comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Converse’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Converse flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Converse. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Converse isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Miami County.How exposed is Converse?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 47% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 1,260 of the 1,977 Indiana towns we cover.
Converse is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Converse 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
Drought
Strong wind
6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Converse
Disasters that paid out in Converse itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Converse) and its biggest flood years.
- 2007Snow$3K to the Town of Converse for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 household applied for aid
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding6 households applied for aid$13K aid approved$9K to the Town of Converse for repairs
- 2000Snow$837 to the Town of Converse for repairs
- 1999In-Winter Storm 12/23/98$2K to the Town of Converse for repairs
Miami County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Converse after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Converse archive →Get ready for what Converse 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.
Most disasters here begin in December–January
The month each of Miami County’s 13 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 Converse’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Converse.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Converse.
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.