Natural hazards · Athelstan

Athelstan, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Athelstan comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Athelstan?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Athelstan to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding30%Drought27%Heat waves13%Tornadoes12%Cold waves11%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Athelstan faces

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

27% of expected damage

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Heat waves

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year 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 Athelstan flood?

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

Disasters that hit Athelstan

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Taylor County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Athelstan itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into AthelstanDeclared for Taylor County only

Taylor County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and ice 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. Athelstan 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 Athelstan’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Athelstan. 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.