Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Dyer faces more hazard damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dyer gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (66%), then river and rain flooding (20%). 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 Dyer 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
Tornadoes
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 Dyer’s grade
Earthquakes are 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dyer, and Dyer’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 9%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Dyer’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.7M a year in losses across Dyer: $990K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dyer flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dyer. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Dyer isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Gibson County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Dyer
Disasters that paid out in Dyer itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Dyer), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storms and Tornadoes2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding8 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes10 households applied for aid$24K aid approved$14K to the City of Dyer for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Tornadoes188 households applied for aid$89K aid approved$146K to the City of Dyer for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding4 households applied for aid$10K aid approved$3K to the City of Dyer for repairs
Gibson County has had 21 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.
Old photos of Dyer after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dyer archive →Get ready for what Dyer 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.
- 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.
- 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 Dyer
Is Dyer at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dyer has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (66%) and river and rain flooding (20%). 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 Dyer 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 Gibson County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dyer?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dyer’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 Dyer?
By FEMA money that reached Dyer, Severe Storms and Tornadoes (2006): 188 households applied for aid, $89K approved, and $146K to the City of Dyer for repairs.
Is Dyer at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Dyer’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dyer.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dyer’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.