Lafayette is calmer than 90% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lafayette comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1981. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Lafayette’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Lafayette?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 10% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.
Calmer than 1,907 of the 1,977 Indiana towns we cover.
Lafayette covers 19 census tracts, combined by population.
Does Lafayette flood? Sometimes: 14 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lafayette, from FEMA’s records.
Lafayette isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tippecanoe County.What Lafayette 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
Tornadoes
Heat waves
Lafayette and its neighbors
Lafayette has the lowest rating of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lafayette
Disasters that paid out in Lafayette itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Lafayette) and its biggest flood years.
- 2008Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding11 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2007Snow$86K to the City of Lafayette for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms and Flooding17 households applied for aid$31K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding299 households applied for aid$361K aid approved$22K to the City of Lafayette for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding38 households applied for aid$167K aid approved
Show all 7
- 1999In-Winter Storm 12/23/98$41K to the City of Lafayette for repairs
Tippecanoe County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Lafayette after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lafayette archive →Get ready for what Lafayette 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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–March
The month each of Tippecanoe County’s 12 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 Lafayette’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lafayette.
- 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. Across Lafayette, expected losses total about $17.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lafayette.
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.