FEMA puts Melody Hill’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Melody Hill gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns, #589 of 593 in Indiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%), then earthquakes (33%). 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 Melody Hill 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
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 Melody Hill’s grade
River and rain flooding is 53% of the building damage FEMA expects in Melody Hill, and Melody Hill’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 4%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D #589 of 593 in Indiana; higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Melody Hill’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, Melody Hill has more expected damage per building than 99% of Indiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.1M a year in losses across Melody Hill: $2.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Melody Hill flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Melody Hill. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Melody Hill isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Vanderburgh County.The storms Melody Hill remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Vanderburgh County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Melody Hill itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Vanderburgh County has had 17 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.
Melody Hill and its neighbors
Melody Hill is 4th of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight Township | Cmore damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 169 |
| Evansville | Cmore damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 408 |
| Center Township | C−more damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | 19 |
| Melody Hill | Dmore damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Melody Hill 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.
- 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 Melody Hill
Is Melody Hill at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Melody Hill has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #589 of 593 in Indiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%) and earthquakes (33%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Melody Hill 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 Vanderburgh County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Melody Hill?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Melody Hill’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Melody Hill at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (53%), and Melody Hill’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Melody Hill.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Melody Hill’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.