Photo: Nyttend · Public domainLess hazard damage per building is expected in Salem Township than in 87% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salem Township gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%), then earthquakes (22%). 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 Salem 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
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.
What’s behind Salem Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Salem Township, and Salem Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 22% (higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts).
A lower expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Salem Township’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $930K a year in losses across Salem Township: $778K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Salem Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Salem Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Salem 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: Shelby County.The storms Salem Township remembers
None of the 11 disasters declared for Shelby County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Salem Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Shelby County has had 11 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.
Salem Township and its neighbors
Salem 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Jackson Township | Aless damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Franklin Township | A−less damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | 7 |
| Clinton Township | Bless damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 29 |
| Sidney | B−less damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 32 |
| Miami Township | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Perry Township | — | not graded yet | |
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 Salem 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.
- 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 Salem Township
Is Salem Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salem Township has lower expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%) and earthquakes (22%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Salem 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 Shelby County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Salem Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Salem Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Salem Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Salem Township’s rate for it is lower than 90% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salem Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Salem 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.