Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Prairie Township’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prairie Township gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #179 of 993 in Ohio. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (71%), then tornadoes (11%). 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 Prairie Township 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 Prairie Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 71% of the building damage FEMA expects in Prairie Township, and Prairie Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 1%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
A #179 of 993 in Ohio; lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Prairie Township’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Ohio town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Prairie Township has less expected damage per building than 82% of Ohio towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $702K a year in losses across Prairie Township: $586K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Prairie Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Prairie Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Prairie Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Holmes County.The storms Prairie Township remembers
None of the 9 disasters declared for Holmes County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Prairie Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Holmes County has had 9 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.
Prairie Township and its neighbors
Prairie Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 6 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Township | Aless damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Franklin Township | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Salt Creek Township | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Hardy Township | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Ripley Township | B+less damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Monroe Township | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 Prairie Township 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 Prairie Township
Is Prairie Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prairie Township has lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #179 of 993 in Ohio. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (71%) and tornadoes (11%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Prairie Township 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 Holmes 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 Prairie Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Prairie Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Prairie Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (71%), and Prairie Township’s rate for it is lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Prairie Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Prairie Township’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.