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Natural hazards · Salem

Salem, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Salem comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2004. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Salem?

3
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Salem to be higher than in 3% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding59%Tornadoes17%Hail7%Everything else17%
By hazard

What Salem faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Hail

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 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 Salem flood?

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

2paid claims since 2004
$57Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20042026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Salem isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbiana County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Salem

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SalemDeclared for Columbiana County only
2019

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslide

2 households applied for aid
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

153 households applied for aid $242K aid approved
2003

Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds

390 households applied for aid $381K aid approved $23K to the City of Salem for repairs
2003

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $6K aid approved
Columbiana County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.
Around Salem

Salem and the towns around it

Green: Very low, mostly inland floodingSalem Heights: Very low, mostly inland floodingBeaver: Very low, mostly inland floodingSalem: Very low, mostly inland floodingPerry: Very low, mostly inland floodingGoshen: Very low, mostly inland floodingSalem: Very low, mostly inland flooding SalemGreenSalem Heights
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Greenmostly inland floodingVery low
Salem Heightsmostly inland floodingVery low
Salemmostly 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. Salem 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 Salem’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Salem. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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