TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
BaxterGood morning
Natural hazards · Baxter

Baxter, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Baxter comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Baxter?

39
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Baxter to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding37%Drought28%Tornadoes15%Strong wind7%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Baxter faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

28% of expected damage
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Baxter flood?

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

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

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BaxterDeclared for Jasper County only
2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $15K aid approved $114K to the City of Baxter for repairs
2020

Severe Storms

41 households applied for aid $5K aid approved $175K to the City of Baxter for repairs
2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$28K to the City of Baxter for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

3 households applied for aid $16K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $9K to the City of Baxter for repairs
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$30K to the City of Baxter for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $727 aid approved
Jasper County has had 17 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. Baxter 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 Baxter’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Baxter. 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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Baxter, IAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Baxter is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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