Natural hazards · Waterville

Waterville, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waterville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 33 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Waterville?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waterville to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding76%Tornadoes11%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Waterville faces

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

Inland flooding

76% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Waterville flood?

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

33paid claims since 1978

$177Kpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 1 claim, $417

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lucas County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Waterville

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WatervilleDeclared for Lucas County only

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

Lucas County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Waterville

Waterville and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Middletonmostly inland floodingHigh

Watervillemostly inland floodingHigh

Watervillemostly inland floodingLow

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. Waterville covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Waterville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Waterville. 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 Waterville total about $2.6M 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.