Natural hazards · Universal

Universal, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Universal comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Universal?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Universal to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding45%Cold waves18%Tornadoes11%Earthquakes10%Strong wind6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Universal faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 42 years in the area

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 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 Universal flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Vermillion County.

Disasters that hit Universal

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into UniversalDeclared for Vermillion County only

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

8 households applied for aid $19K aid approved

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

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