Natural hazards · Amherst

Amherst, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Amherst comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Amherst?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding68%Tornadoes12%Cold waves8%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Amherst faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year 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 Amherst flood?

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

6paid claims since 1978

$22Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Late winter storms: 1 claim, $8K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lorain County.

Disasters that hit Amherst

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AmherstDeclared for Lorain County only

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

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

Around Amherst

Amherst and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Amherstmostly inland floodingLow

Brownhelmmostly inland floodingLow

Lorainmostly 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. Amherst covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Amherst’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Amherst. 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 Amherst total about $1.9M 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.