Aurora Colony Historic District · Photo: M.O. Stevens · CC BY 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Aurora than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aurora gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (73%), then river and rain flooding (26%). 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 Aurora faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
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 Aurora’s grade
Earthquakes are 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Aurora, and Aurora’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 26% (lower than 88% of U.S. census tracts).
C higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Aurora’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $852K a year in losses across Aurora: $567K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Aurora flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Aurora. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Aurora 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.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Aurora
Disasters that paid out in Aurora itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Aurora), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storm$59K to the City of Aurora for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm, Record and Near Record Snow$2K to the City of Aurora for repairs
Marion County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Marion County, 2020–2023.
Old photos of Aurora after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Aurora archive →Get ready for what Aurora faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Aurora
Is Aurora at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aurora has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (73%) and river and rain flooding (26%). 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.
Is Aurora 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, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Aurora?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Aurora’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 Aurora?
By FEMA money that reached Aurora, Severe Winter Storm (2021): $59K to the City of Aurora for repairs.
Is Aurora at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Aurora’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Aurora.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Aurora’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.