Moral Township’s building-damage rate from tornadoes is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moral Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns, #477 of 593 in Indiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%), then tornadoes (18%). Flood insurance has paid 27 claims here since 1992.
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 Moral 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
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 Moral Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Moral Township, and Moral Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 18%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #477 of 593 in Indiana; higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Moral Township’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, Moral Township has more expected damage per building than 80% of Indiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Moral Township: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Moral Township flood? Sometimes: 27 flood claims since 1992
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Moral Township, from FEMA’s records: 15.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- The Storm2 claims · $14K
- The Central U.S. April Flooding1 claim · $98K
- The Mid-spring storms1 claim · $11K
Moral 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: Shelby County.The storms Moral Township remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Shelby County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Moral Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20139 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19934 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20114 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Shelby 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.
Old photos of Moral Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Moral Township archive →Moral Township and its neighbors
Moral Township is 8th of the 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | B+less damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Van Buren Township | B+less damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
| Clark Township | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Brandywine Township | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Sugar Creek Township | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Indianapolis | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 1,638 |
| Sugar Creek Township | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Moral Township | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 27 |
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 Moral 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.
- 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 Moral Township
Is Moral Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moral Township has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #477 of 593 in Indiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (73%) and tornadoes (18%). 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 Moral Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 27 claims in Moral Township since 1992, $465K in all, or 15.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Storm (2).
Is Moral 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 Shelby County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Moral Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Moral Township’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 Moral Township?
By flood claims, Storm: 2 paid, $14K.
Is Moral Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Moral Township’s rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Moral Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Moral 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.