Natural hazards · Van Buren

Van Buren, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Van Buren 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 Van Buren?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Van Buren to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding47%Tornadoes26%Cold waves5%Everything else22%

By hazard

What Van Buren faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 36% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Van Buren flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Grant County.

Disasters that hit Van Buren

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Van BurenDeclared for Grant County only

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

3 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Grant County has had 18 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. Van Buren 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 Van Buren’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Van Buren. 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.