FEMA puts Hortonia’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hortonia gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%). 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 Hortonia 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 Hortonia’s grade
River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hortonia, and Hortonia’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 9% (higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts).
A− lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Hortonia’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $426K a year in losses across Hortonia: $267K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Hortonia flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hortonia. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hortonia isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Outagamie County.The storms Hortonia remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Outagamie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Hortonia itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Outagamie County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Hortonia and its neighbors
Hortonia is 2nd of the 7 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hortonville | A−less damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Hortonia | A−less damage than 80% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Dale | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Ellington | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | — |
| New London | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 71 |
| Mukwa | B−less damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 63 |
| Caledonia | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Liberty | — | 921 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Hortonia 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 Hortonia
Is Hortonia at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hortonia has lower expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and tornadoes (9%). 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 Hortonia 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 Outagamie County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hortonia?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hortonia’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Hortonia at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Hortonia’s rate for it is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hortonia.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hortonia’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.