Natural hazards · Harlan

Harlan, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Harlan comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Harlan?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Harlan to be higher than in 25% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding61%Tornadoes22%Strong wind5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Harlan faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 34 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 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 Harlan flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Allen County.

Disasters that hit Harlan

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HarlanDeclared for Allen County only

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

5 households applied for aid

Allen 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. Harlan 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 Harlan’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Harlan. 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.