Natural hazards · French Lick

French Lick, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in French Lick comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1983. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is French Lick?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in French Lick to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding56%Tornadoes26%Strong wind7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What French Lick faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 85 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 French Lick flood?

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

20paid claims since 1983

$795Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

March storm: 4 claims, $107K
Mid-spring storms: 3 claims, $15K

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. French Lick isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Orange County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit French Lick

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into French LickDeclared for Orange County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $530 aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

19 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

Orange County has had 16 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. French Lick 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 French Lick’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of French Lick. 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.