Natural hazards · Bertram

Bertram, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bertram comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bertram?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bertram to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding46%Tornadoes17%Drought10%Hail8%Strong wind8%Cold waves6%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Bertram faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 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 Bertram flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Linn County.

Disasters that hit Bertram

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BertramDeclared for Linn County only

2020

Severe Storms

3 households applied for aid $276K to the City of Bertram for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$979K to the City of Bertram for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$57K to the City of Bertram for repairs

Linn County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Bertram

Bertram and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bertrammostly inland floodingModerate

Cedar Rapidsmostly inland floodingLow

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