Natural hazards · Ashton

Ashton, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ashton comes from hail, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ashton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ashton to be higher than in 38% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail27%Inland flooding26%Cold waves16%Tornadoes14%Drought7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Ashton faces

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

Hail

27% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 21 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 Ashton flood?

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

1paid claims since 2024

$14Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20242026

Biggest named events

Iowa Flooding: 1 claim, $14K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Osceola County.

Disasters that hit Ashton

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AshtonDeclared for Osceola County only

2024

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

45 households applied for aid $219K aid approved $299K to the City of Ashton for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$3K to the City of Ashton for repairs

2018

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

$103K to the City of Ashton for repairs

2013

Severe Winter Storm

$39K to the City of Ashton for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2007

Snow

$2K to the City of Ashton for repairs

Osceola County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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