Natural hazards · Bernard

Bernard, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bernard 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 Bernard?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bernard to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding57%Tornadoes14%Drought9%Hail8%Cold waves7%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Bernard faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Bernard flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dubuque County.

Disasters that hit Bernard

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BernardDeclared for Dubuque County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

Dubuque County has had 18 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. Bernard 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 Bernard’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bernard. 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.