Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Hope’s building-damage rate from tornadoes is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hope gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%), then tornadoes (16%). 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 Hope 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
Earthquakes
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 Hope’s grade
River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hope, and Hope’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 16%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Hope’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $776K a year in losses across Hope: $536K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Hope flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hope. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hope isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bartholomew County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hope
Disasters that paid out in Hope itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Hope), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2008Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes64 households applied for aid$215K aid approved$13K to the Town of Hope for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2004Snow$5K to the Town of Hope for repairs
Bartholomew County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Hope after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hope archive →Get ready for what Hope 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Hope
Is Hope at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hope has higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and tornadoes (16%). 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.
Is Hope 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 Bartholomew County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hope?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hope’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 Hope?
By FEMA money that reached Hope, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes (2008): 64 households applied for aid, $215K approved, and $13K to the Town of Hope for repairs.
Is Hope at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Hope’s rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hope.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hope’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.