Aurelia’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Aurelia comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Aurelia’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Aurelia flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Aurelia. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Aurelia isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cherokee County.How exposed is Aurelia?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.
Calmer than 535 of the 1,026 Iowa towns we cover.
Aurelia is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Aurelia faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hail
Tornadoes
Drought
Cold waves
Strong wind
4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Aurelia
Disasters that paid out in Aurelia itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Aurelia) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes4 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes6 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm$4K to the City of Aurelia for repairs
- 2007Snow$2K to the City of Aurelia for repairs
Cherokee County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Aurelia after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Aurelia archive →Get ready for what Aurelia actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in April–June
The month each of Cherokee County’s 21 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Aurelia’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Aurelia.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Aurelia.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.