China Grove Methodist Church · Photo: Z28scrambler · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Kokomo
Kokomo isn’t graded for hazard risk: Kokomo has 172 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Kokomo 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
Hurricanes
Hail
Tornadoes
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 Kokomo flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Kokomo. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Kokomo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Marion County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Kokomo
Disasters that paid out in Kokomo itself (aid to households or repair grants to Kokomo), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding113 households applied for aid$1.2M aid approved
- 2020Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding1 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2013Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding4 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2012Hurricane Isaac57 households applied for aid$31K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina551 households applied for aid$922K aid approved
Show all 7
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Floods87 households applied for aid$95K aid approved
Marion County has had 29 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Old photos of Kokomo after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Kokomo archive →Get ready for what Kokomo 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Kokomo
Is Kokomo 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 Marion County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Kokomo?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Kokomo’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 Kokomo?
By FEMA money that reached Kokomo, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2025): 113 households applied for aid, $1.2M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Kokomo.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Kokomo’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.