States › Indiana › Pulaski County

Pulaski County, Indiana

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 18131 · 12,339 residents (2021) · 434 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 50Tornado · 17Flood · 4Wind · 90Winter · 68

Pulaski County within Indiana. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 235 storm events in Pulaski County, Indiana, led by damaging wind.

That is 54.2 events per 100 square miles, below the Indiana figure of 120.7, and 190.5 per 10,000 residents against 63.5 statewide.

2 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 14 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $4.8M and crop damage at $105K.

FEMA has designated the county in 18 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (major disaster, 25 Aug 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 173 claims since 1978, of which 140 were paid, totalling $2.6M (about $19K per paid claim). FEMA counts 51 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($5.1M a year across 18 hazards).

4 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

2events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

235events since 19500 deaths, 14 injuries recorded

18disaster declarationslast 25 Aug 2026

173NFIP flood claims$2.6M paid

Compared with Indiana and the United States

Measure	Pulaski County	Indiana	US
Recorded events since 1950	235	43,229	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	54.2	120.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	190.5	63.5	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	2	1,597	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	550	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$4.8M	$4.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	14.0	2.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$19K	$20K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	39.2	17.3	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 2

Tornado: 5Wind: 4

Hail: 3Tornado: 1Wind: 8

Hail: 12Tornado: 4Wind: 13Winter: 3Cold: 1

Hail: 21Tornado: 1Flood: 2Wind: 37Winter: 13Fog: 1

Hail: 13Tornado: 2Flood: 2Wind: 20Winter: 40Cold: 3

Hail: 1Wind: 8Winter: 12Cold: 1

21950s21960s91970s121980s331990s752000s802010s222020s

Recorded events in Pulaski County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterColdFog NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 133 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 78 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind90

Winter68

Hail50

Tornado17

Cold5

Flood4

Fog1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	90	—	0.5%	detail
■ Winter	68	—	1.2%	detail
■ Hail	50	—	0.7%	detail
■ Tornado	17	—	0.8%	detail
■ Cold	5	—	0.5%
■ Flood	4	—	0.1%
■ Fog	1	—	0.2%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
3 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F4	—	—	—	7	County
21 Jun 1951	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	2	County
17 Apr 1963	Tornado	Tornado	F4	—	—	—	2	County
11 Jun 1998	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$1.0M	$100K	—	1	County
6 Sep 1971	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3K	—	—	1	County
31 Jan 2002	Ice Storm	Winter	—	—	—	—	1	Forecast zone
26 Apr 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$500K	—	—	—	County
26 Jun 1970	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
16 Jun 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
25 Aug 2026	DR-4933	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Aug 2026	EM-3651	Emergency	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
24 Jan 2026	EM-3641	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
3 Apr 2020	DR-4515	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3456	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
4 May 2018	DR-4363	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Apr 2009	DR-1832	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
30 Jan 2008	DR-1740	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Mar 2007	EM-3274	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3238	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
21 Jan 2005	DR-1573	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
11 Jul 2003	DR-1476	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
24 Jan 2001	EM-3162	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
15 Jan 1999	EM-3135	Emergency	Snowstorm	In-Winter Storm 12/23/98	Public assistance
8 May 1998	DR-1217	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
5 Jan 1991	DR-891	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Feb 1977	EM-3028	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snowstorms	Public assistance
4 Apr 1974	DR-423	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Pulaski County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978173

Paid claims140

Total paid$2.6M

Average paid claim$19K

Repetitive-loss properties283 severe

Residential policies in force510.7% of 7,091 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	1	0	$0	—
2018	19	16	$514,565	$32,160
2015	2	1	$32,458	$32,458
2014	1	0	$0	—
2013	6	4	$19,008	$4,752
2011	3	2	$3,702	$1,851
2009	53	50	$1,422,921	$28,458
2008	48	37	$487,073	$13,164
2007	2	1	$8,276	$8,276
2005	3	3	$17,069	$5,690
1999	2	1	$9,146	$9,146
1998	1	1	$7,327	$7,327
1996	3	2	$19,415	$9,708
1993	3	2	$10,785	$5,393
1990	12	9	$43,728	$4,859
1985	9	6	$21,015	$3,503
1982	3	3	$5,732	$1,911
1981	2	2	$13,236	$6,618

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Lowscore 11.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$5.1MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Very Low	$2,224,248
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$1,241,683
Tornado	Relatively Low	$667,755
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$333,079
Hail	Relatively Low	$215,121
Earthquake	Very Low	$183,270
Heat wave	Very Low	$139,039
Lightning	Very Low	$56,113
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$52,984
Winter weather	Very Low	$16,634
Hurricane	Very Low	$15,447
Drought	Very Low	$2,884
Wildfire	Very Low	$739
Landslide	Very Low	$451

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles4

Tracks within 50 miles0

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ike	2008	58 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	61 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	52 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	74 mi	40 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

46996 152
46960 16
46985 8

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Pulaski County, IN?

NCEI records 50 hail events in Pulaski County since 1950, in 22 different years; that is about 0.6 recorded events a year. 14 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Pulaski County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 17 tornadoes in Pulaski County since 1950, 5 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Pulaski County?

25 Aug 2026: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 18 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Pulaski County, and how much was paid?

173 NFIP claims since 1978, 140 of them paid, for $2.6M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Pulaski County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Very Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Pulaski County compare with the rest of Indiana?

54.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.7 statewide, and 14.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.9. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.