Natural hazards · Polk

Polk, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Polk 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 Polk?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Polk to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes14%Hail8%Strong wind8%Cold waves6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Polk faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 34 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Polk flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ashland County.

Disasters that hit Polk

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PolkDeclared for Ashland County only

2004

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

15 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2002

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid

Ashland County has had 9 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. Polk 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 Polk’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Polk. 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.