Natural hazards · Sunman

Sunman, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sunman comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sunman?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sunman to be higher than in 30% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding41%Tornadoes31%Strong wind11%Earthquakes6%Cold waves5%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Sunman faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

31% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 32 years in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Sunman flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ripley County.

Disasters that hit Sunman

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SunmanDeclared for Ripley County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

39 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2004

Snow

$3K to the Town of Sunman for repairs

Ripley County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

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