Natural hazards · Princeton

Princeton, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Princeton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Princeton?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Princeton to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding36%Cold waves24%Tornadoes15%Strong wind7%Hail7%Earthquakes6%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Princeton faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 11% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Princeton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: White County.

Disasters that hit Princeton

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into PrincetonDeclared for White County only

White County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Princeton

Princeton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Mononmostly inland floodingModerate

Carpentermostly inland floodingModerate

Milroymostly inland floodingModerate

Honey Creekmostly inland floodingLow

Princetonmostly inland floodingVery low

West Pointmostly inland floodingVery low

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