Natural hazards · Akron

Akron, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Akron comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 2010. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Akron?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Akron to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding40%Hail19%Tornadoes16%Drought14%Cold waves6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Akron faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 30 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Akron flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Akron, from FEMA’s records.

9paid claims since 2010

$231Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20102026

Biggest named events

June Midwest Flooding: 3 claims, $124K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Akron isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Plymouth County.

Disasters that hit Akron

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AkronDeclared for Plymouth County only

2024

Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

11 households applied for aid $119K aid approved $104K to the City of Akron for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$26K to the City of Akron for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$49K to the City of Akron for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$8K to the City of Akron for repairs

2007

Snow

$5K to the City of Akron for repairs

Plymouth County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Akron

Akron and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Akronmostly inland floodingHigh

Sioux Valleymostly inland floodingModerate

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. Akron 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 Akron’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Akron. 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.