Natural hazards · Orwell

Orwell, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Orwell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Orwell?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Orwell to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding57%Tornadoes18%Strong wind9%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Orwell faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 49 years in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Orwell flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ashtabula County.

Disasters that hit Orwell

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OrwellDeclared for Ashtabula County only

2008

Record Snow and Near Record Snow

$4K to the Village of Orwell for repairs

2006

Severe Storms, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Ashtabula County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

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. Orwell 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 Orwell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Orwell. 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.