Natural hazards · West

West, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1990.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West to be higher than in 21% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding45%Cold waves21%Tornadoes17%Everything else17%

By hazard

What West 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

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 41 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 West flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in West, from FEMA’s records.

3paid claims since 1990

$20Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19902026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marshall County.

Disasters that hit West

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into WestDeclared for Marshall County only

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

Around West

West and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Centermostly inland floodingLow

Polkmostly inland floodingLow

Westmostly inland floodingLow

Oregonmostly inland floodingLow

Unionmostly 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. West covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to West’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of West. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across West total about $1.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.