Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Brimfield faces less hazard damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brimfield gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #176 of 993 in Ohio. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1978.
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 Brimfield 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
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.
What’s behind Brimfield’s grade
River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brimfield, and Brimfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 8% (higher than 56% of U.S. census tracts).
A #176 of 993 in Ohio; lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Brimfield’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Ohio town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Brimfield has less expected damage per building than 82% of Ohio towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $548K a year in losses across Brimfield: $460K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brimfield flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brimfield, from FEMA’s records: 2.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 55% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Brimfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Portage County.The storms Brimfield remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Portage County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Brimfield itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19781 flood claims paidThe year of Blizzards and Snowstorms, declared for Portage County
- 19811 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20241 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Portage County has had 8 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.
Old photos of Brimfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Brimfield archive →Get ready for what Brimfield 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.
- 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 Brimfield
Is Brimfield at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brimfield has lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #176 of 993 in Ohio. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and tornadoes (8%). 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.
Does Brimfield flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Brimfield since 1978, $11K in all, or 2.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 55% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Brimfield 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 Portage County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Brimfield?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brimfield’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Brimfield at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Brimfield’s rate for it is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brimfield.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brimfield’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.