FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Smith Township than in 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Smith Township gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%), then earthquakes (32%). 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 Smith 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
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 Smith Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Smith Township, and Smith Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 4%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C− higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Smith Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $608K a year in losses across Smith Township: $426K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Smith Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Smith Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Smith 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: Posey County.The storms Smith Township remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Posey County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Smith Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Posey County has had 16 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.
Smith Township and its neighbors
Smith Township is 4th of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson Township | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Montgomery Township | C+more damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Armstrong Township | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Smith Township | C−more damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Robb Township | C−more damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 32 |
| Robinson Township | C−more damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Center Township | C−more damage than 82% | 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.
Get ready for what Smith 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.
- 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 Smith Township
Is Smith Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Smith Township has higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%) and earthquakes (32%). 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 Smith 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 Posey County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Smith Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Smith Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Smith Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Smith Township’s rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Smith Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Smith 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.