More hazard damage per building is expected in Breckinridge Center than in 71% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Breckinridge Center gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (39%), then river and rain flooding (35%). 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 Breckinridge Center faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Strong wind
Ice storms
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 Breckinridge Center’s grade
Earthquakes are 39% of the building damage FEMA expects in Breckinridge Center, and Breckinridge Center’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 8%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Breckinridge Center’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $788K a year in losses across Breckinridge Center: $483K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Breckinridge Center flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Breckinridge Center. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Breckinridge Center isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Union County.The storms Breckinridge Center remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Union County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Breckinridge Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Union County has had 22 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.
Breckinridge Center and its neighbors
Breckinridge Center has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breckinridge Center | Cmore damage than 71% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Morganfield | Cmore damage than 75% | earthquakes | 4 |
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 Breckinridge Center faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Breckinridge Center
Is Breckinridge Center at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Breckinridge Center has higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (39%) and river and rain flooding (35%). 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 Breckinridge Center 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 Union County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Breckinridge Center?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Breckinridge Center’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Breckinridge Center at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (39%), and Breckinridge Center’s rate for it is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Breckinridge Center.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Breckinridge Center’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.