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Levi Coffin House, front and southern sidePhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in New Garden Township · FEMA

New Garden Township’s building-damage rate from tornadoes is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Garden Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%), then tornadoes (17%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 75%Tornadoes 17%Earthquakes 3%

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

more than 56%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Indiana · higher than 56% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
75% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 12 declared for Wayne County
By hazard

What New Garden 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

75%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind Hail Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Hurricanes Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves top 4% Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind New Garden Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in New Garden Township, and New Garden Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 17%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where New Garden Township sits
New Garden Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of New Garden Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding75%Tornadoes17%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $693K a year in losses across New Garden Township: $497K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of New Garden Township’s 1,949 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Franklin township (1,319 residents) and Fountain City town (714 residents) and Whitewater town (71 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does New Garden Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in New Garden Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

New Garden 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: Wayne County.
Disasters

The storms New Garden Township remembers

None of the 12 disasters declared for Wayne County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching New Garden Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in New Garden TownshipWayne County only

Wayne County has had 12 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.

Next door

New Garden Township and its neighbors

New Garden Township is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Franklin Township: hazard risk C+Webster Township: hazard risk C+Green Township: hazard risk CGreensfork Township: hazard risk BFranklin TownshipWebster TownshipGreen TownshipGreensfork TownshipNew Garden Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Greensfork TownshipBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding—
Franklin TownshipC+more damage than 56%river and rain flooding2
New Garden TownshipC+more damage than 56%river and rain flooding0
Webster TownshipC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding—
Green TownshipCmore damage than 71%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.

Be ready

Get ready for what New Garden 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.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in New Garden Township

Is New Garden Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Garden Township has higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) 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.

Is New Garden 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 Wayne County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in New Garden Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for New Garden Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is New Garden Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and New Garden Township’s rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in New Garden Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where New Garden 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.