Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial · Photo: Rene Sturgell · CC BY-SA 3.0For strong wind, Carter Township’s building-damage rate is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carter Township gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns, #444 of 593 in Indiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%), then earthquakes (18%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Carter Township faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
Strong wind
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Carter Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Carter Township, and Carter Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 6%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #444 of 593 in Indiana; higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Carter Township’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Indiana town has lower expected damage than 60% of U.S. towns; within the state, Carter Township has more expected damage per building than 75% of Indiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Carter Township: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Carter Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Carter Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Carter Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Spencer County.The storms Carter Township remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Spencer County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Carter Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Spencer County has had 12 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Carter Township and its neighbors
Carter Township is 2nd of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cass Township | Bless damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Carter Township | B−more damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Santa Claus | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Harrison Township | C+more damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Clay Township | Cmore damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Pigeon Township | C−more damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | — |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Carter Township faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Carter Township
Is Carter Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Carter Township has higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #444 of 593 in Indiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%) and earthquakes (18%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Carter Township in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Spencer County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Carter Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Carter Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Carter Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Carter Township’s rate for it is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Carter Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Carter Township’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.