Hopedale’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hopedale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Hopedale’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Hopedale flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hopedale. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hopedale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Harrison County.How exposed is Hopedale?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and strong winds.
Rated higher than 1,380 of the 2,573 Ohio towns we cover.
Hopedale is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Hopedale faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Strong wind
Drought
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Hopedale
Disasters that paid out in Hopedale itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Hopedale) and its biggest flood years.
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
Harrison County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Hopedale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hopedale archive →Get ready for what Hopedale 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- On a well? Know how deep it is and watch for sputtering.
- Follow the town’s watering limits.
- Fix drips: they add up.
- 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 January–February
The month each of Harrison County’s 14 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 Hopedale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Hopedale.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hopedale.
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.