Natural hazards · Hamilton

Hamilton, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hamilton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1996. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hamilton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hamilton to be higher than in 20% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding52%Tornadoes19%Strong wind9%Cold waves7%Hail5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Hamilton faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 44 years in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Hamilton flood?

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

1paid claims since 1996

$8Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19962026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Steuben County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

13flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Hamilton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HamiltonDeclared for Steuben County only

2007

Snow

$2K to the Town of Hamilton for repairs

1999

In-Winter Storm 12/23/98

$2K to the Town of Hamilton for repairs

Steuben County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and tornadoes.

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