Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Vernon Township faces less hazard damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Vernon Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, #216 of 593 in Indiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (63%), then tornadoes (22%). 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 Vernon 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 Vernon Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 63% of the building damage FEMA expects in Vernon Township, and Vernon Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 22%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #216 of 593 in Indiana; lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Vernon 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, Vernon Township has less expected damage per building than 64% of Indiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Vernon Township: $698K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Vernon Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Vernon Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Vernon 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: Jackson County.The storms Vernon Township remembers
None of the 14 disasters declared for Jackson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Vernon Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Jackson County has had 14 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.
Vernon Township and its neighbors
Vernon Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 6 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Township | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Jennings Township | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Finley Township | B−less damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Washington Township | B−less damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Gibson Township | C+more damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Marion Township | C−more damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Grassy Fork Township | — | 612 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Vernon 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 Vernon Township
Is Vernon Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Vernon Township has lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #216 of 593 in Indiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (63%) and tornadoes (22%). 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 Vernon 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 Jackson County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Vernon Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Vernon Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Vernon Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (63%), and Vernon Township’s rate for it is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Vernon Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Vernon 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.