Natural hazards · Nelson

Nelson, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Nelson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2013. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Nelson?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Nelson to be higher than in 14% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding66%Tornadoes11%Hail6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Nelson faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 83 years in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Nelson flood?

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

3paid claims since 2013

$61Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20132026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Portage County.

Disasters that hit Nelson

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NelsonDeclared for Portage County only

2003

Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds

1 household applied for aid $1K aid approved

Portage County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

Around Nelson

Nelson and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Windhammostly inland floodingLow

Parkmanmostly inland floodingVery low

Southingtonmostly inland floodingVery low

Nelsonmostly inland floodingVery low

Garrettsvillemostly inland floodingVery low

Hirammostly 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. Nelson covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Nelson’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Nelson. 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 Nelson total about $1.1M 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.