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Natural hazards · Bristow

Bristow, IA natural hazards

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

46
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bristow to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding32%Drought29%Cold waves13%Tornadoes12%Strong wind7%Hail5%Everything else2%
By hazard

What Bristow faces

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

29% of expected damage
Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 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 Bristow flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Bristow isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Butler County.
Disasters that hit Bristow

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BristowDeclared for Butler County only
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $7K aid approved
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$3K to the City of Bristow for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
Butler County has had 20 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. Bristow 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 Bristow’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bristow. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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