Greenville’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Greenville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1987. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Greenville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Greenville flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 1987
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Greenville, from FEMA’s records.
Greenville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Darke County.How exposed is Greenville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.
Rated higher than 1,790 of the 2,573 Ohio towns we cover.
Greenville covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.
What Greenville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Strong wind
6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Greenville
Disasters that paid out in Greenville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Greenville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Tornadoes34 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslide3 households applied for aid
- 2004Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides122 households applied for aid$84K aid approved$53K to the City of Greenville for repairs
- 2004Snow$25K to the City of Greenville for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms and Flooding6 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Storm and Record/Near Record Snow$28K to the City of Greenville for repairs
Darke County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Greenville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Greenville archive →Get ready for what Greenville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in December–February
The month each of Darke County’s 11 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Greenville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Greenville.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Greenville, expected losses total about $2.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Greenville.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.