Shoals’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shoals comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1990. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Shoals’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Shoals flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1990
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Shoals, from FEMA’s records.
Shoals isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Martin County.How exposed is Shoals?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 1,903 of the 1,977 Indiana towns we cover.
Shoals is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Shoals faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Strong wind
6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Shoals
Disasters that paid out in Shoals itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Shoals) and its biggest flood years.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding$23K to the Town of Shoals for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and$13K to the Town of Shoals for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding7 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$3K to the Town of Shoals for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms and Flooding81 households applied for aid$391K aid approved$20K to the Town of Shoals for repairs
- 2004Snow$1K to the Town of Shoals for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding5 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
Martin County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Shoals after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Shoals archive →Get ready for what Shoals 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.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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.
Shoals and its neighbors
Shoals has the lowest rating of the 3 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.
Disasters here can come any time of year
The month each of Martin County’s 13 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 Shoals’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Shoals.
- 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 Shoals.
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.