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Natural hazards · Afton

Afton, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Afton comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations
Expected damage

How exposed is Afton?

48
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Afton to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves27%Inland flooding24%Drought22%Heat waves9%Tornadoes8%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Afton faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Cold waves

27% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

22% of expected damage
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Afton flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Afton.

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Afton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Union County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Afton

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Afton itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Afton.

Brought FEMA money into AftonDeclared for Union County only
2024

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

9 households applied for aid $17K aid approved
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

17 households applied for aid $41K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

25 households applied for aid $74K aid approved $3K to the City of Afton for repairs
2007

Severe Winter Storm

$25K to the City of Afton for repairs
2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

79 households applied for aid $51K aid approved $6K to the City of Afton for repairs
Union County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Afton is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Afton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Afton. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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