Natural hazards · Beacon

Beacon, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Beacon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Beacon?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Beacon to be higher than in 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding55%Drought14%Tornadoes10%Strong wind6%Cold waves6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Beacon faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Beacon flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mahaska County.

Disasters that hit Beacon

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BeaconDeclared for Mahaska County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

3 households applied for aid

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid

Mahaska County has had 17 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. Beacon 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 Beacon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Beacon. 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.