Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0For tornadoes, Fairmount’s building-damage rate is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairmount gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns, #439 of 593 in Indiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then tornadoes (17%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2013.
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 Fairmount 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
Tornadoes
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 Fairmount’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fairmount, and Fairmount’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 17%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #439 of 593 in Indiana; higher expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Fairmount’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Indiana town has lower expected damage than 60% of U.S. towns; within the state, Fairmount has more expected damage per building than 74% of Indiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $750K a year in losses across Fairmount: $529K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fairmount flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2013
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fairmount, from FEMA’s records: 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 80% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Fairmount isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grant County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Fairmount
Disasters that paid out in Fairmount itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Fairmount), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes12 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2008Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes53 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
- 2005Severe Winter Storms and Flooding150 households applied for aid$101K aid approved$24K to the Town of Fairmount for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$957 aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding5 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
Grant County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Fairmount after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fairmount archive →Get ready for what Fairmount 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.
- 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.
- 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 Fairmount
Is Fairmount at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fairmount has higher expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #439 of 593 in Indiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and tornadoes (17%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Fairmount flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Fairmount since 2013, $6K in all, or 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 80% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Fairmount 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 Grant County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fairmount?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fairmount’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Fairmount?
By FEMA money that reached Fairmount, Severe Winter Storms and Flooding (2005): 150 households applied for aid, $101K approved, and $24K to the Town of Fairmount for repairs.
Is Fairmount at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Fairmount’s rate for it is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fairmount.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fairmount’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.