Natural hazards · Carson

Carson, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Carson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Carson?

56
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Carson to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding29%Tornadoes20%Drought16%Hail14%Cold waves8%Strong wind7%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Carson faces

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

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

14% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Carson flood?

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

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Carson

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CarsonDeclared for Pottawattamie County only
2024

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

3 households applied for aid
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$168K to the City of Carson for repairs
2014

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

$10K to the City of Carson for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$6K to the City of Carson for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $17K aid approved $2K to the City of Carson for repairs
2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid $8K to the City of Carson for repairs
2007

Snow

$3K to the City of Carson for repairs
1999

Severe Storms and Flooding

$5K to the City of Carson for repairs
Pottawattamie County has had 24 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. Carson 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 Carson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Carson. 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