Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Berger
Berger isn’t graded for hazard risk: Berger has 169 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1993.
What Berger 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
Tornadoes
Hail
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.
Does Berger flood? Sometimes: 10 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Berger, from FEMA’s records.
- The Midwest Flooding1 claim · $10K
Berger isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Franklin County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Berger
Disasters that paid out in Berger itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Berger), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires1 households applied for aid$770 aid approved
Franklin County has had 20 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 Berger after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Berger archive →Get ready for what Berger 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.
- 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Berger
Does Berger flood?
Flood insurance has paid 10 claims in Berger since 1993, $43K in all. 1 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Midwest Flooding (1).
Is Berger 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 Franklin County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Berger?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Berger’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 Berger?
By FEMA money that reached Berger, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires (2025): 1 households applied for aid, $770 approved. By flood claims, Midwest Flooding: 1 paid, $10K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Berger.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Berger’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.