Natural hazards · South Bend

South Bend, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in South Bend comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 South Bend?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in South Bend to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding44%Tornadoes16%Hail13%Drought10%Everything else17%

By hazard

What South Bend faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 South Bend flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cass County.

Disasters that hit South Bend

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in South Bend itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Village of South Bend.

Brought FEMA money into South BendDeclared for Cass County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Cass County has had 24 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. South Bend 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 South Bend’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of South Bend. 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.