Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Harpster
Harpster isn’t graded for hazard risk: Harpster has 277 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Harpster 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
Strong wind
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 Harpster flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Harpster. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Harpster isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Wyandot County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Harpster
Disasters that paid out in Harpster itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Harpster), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2012Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds$5K to the Village of Harpster for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes5 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2004Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides5 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$2K to the Village of Harpster for repairs
Wyandot 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 Harpster after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Harpster archive →Get ready for what Harpster 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Harpster
Is Harpster 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 Wyandot County, 1.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Harpster?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Harpster’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 Harpster?
By FEMA money that reached Harpster, Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides (2004): 5 households applied for aid, $3K approved, and $2K to the Village of Harpster for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Harpster.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Harpster’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.