Jamestown is calmer than 83% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Jamestown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Jamestown’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Jamestown?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 17% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 1,778 of the 1,977 Indiana towns we cover.
Jamestown is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Jamestown flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Jamestown. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Jamestown isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Boone County.What Jamestown faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
Hail
Strong wind
5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Jamestown
Disasters that paid out in Jamestown itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Jamestown) and its biggest flood years.
- 2007Snow$2K to the Town of Jamestown for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 household applied for aid
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 1999In-Winter Storm 12/23/98$2K to the Town of Jamestown for repairs
Boone County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Jamestown after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Jamestown archive →Get ready for what Jamestown 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 January–February
The month each of Boone County’s 15 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 Jamestown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Jamestown.
- 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 Jamestown.
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.