Natural hazards · German

German, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in German comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1998.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is German?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in German to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding63%Tornadoes20%Earthquakes6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What German faces

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

Inland flooding

63% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 60 years in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 German flood?

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

6paid claims since 1998

$155Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Storm: 2 claims, $77K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bartholomew County.

Disasters that hit German

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Bartholomew County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching German itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into GermanDeclared for Bartholomew County only

Bartholomew County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around German

German and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Jacksonmostly inland floodingModerate

Columbusmostly inland floodingModerate

Germanmostly inland floodingModerate

Flat Rockmostly inland floodingModerate

Blue Rivermostly inland floodingModerate

Pleasant View Villagemostly inland floodingLow

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. German covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to German’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of German. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across German total about $2.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.