Natural hazards · Boyden

Boyden, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Boyden comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Boyden?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Boyden to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding35%Hail24%Tornadoes20%Cold waves8%Drought7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Boyden faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Boyden flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sioux County.

Disasters that hit Boyden

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BoydenDeclared for Sioux County only

2024

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

25 households applied for aid $93K aid approved

2013

Severe Winter Storm

$10K to the City of Boyden for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

30 households applied for aid $35K aid approved $11K to the City of Boyden for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$3K to the City of Boyden for repairs

Sioux County has had 13 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. Boyden 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 Boyden’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Boyden. 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.