Natural hazards · Bellevue

Bellevue, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bellevue comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1993. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bellevue?

High

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding49%Tornadoes12%Cold waves12%Strong wind9%Hail8%Drought6%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Bellevue faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce 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 Bellevue flood?

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

2paid claims since 1993

$65Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

Severe flooding: 1 claim, $61K
Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $5K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

Disasters that hit Bellevue

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BellevueDeclared for Jackson County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$4K to the City of Bellevue for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid $750 to the City of Bellevue for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $37K to the City of Bellevue for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$2K to the City of Bellevue for repairs

Jackson County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Bellevue

Bellevue and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bellevuemostly inland floodingHigh

Hanovermostly inland floodingModerate

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