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Natural hazards · Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cedar Rapids comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 898 claims here since 1979. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Cedar Rapids?

36
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cedar Rapids to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding45%Tornadoes22%Strong wind10%Hail9%Cold waves8%Everything else6%
By hazard

What Cedar Rapids faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Strong wind

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% 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 wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Cedar Rapids flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cedar Rapids, from FEMA’s records.

898paid claims since 1979
$64.1Mpaid to owners
18homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Storm: 215 claims, $25.9M
  • Midwest Flooding: 71 claims, $411K
  • Severe flooding: 1 claim, $5K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
🏷️ 20% off flood insurance. Cedar Rapids is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 6) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Linn County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

112flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
5flood-prone homes bought out and moved
1buildings floodproofed
1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Cedar Rapids

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Cedar RapidsDeclared for Linn County only
2020

Severe Storms

10,204 households applied for aid $6.4M aid approved $53.7M to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$6.3M to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
2014

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

$1.4M to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$487K to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6,995 households applied for aid $56.5M aid approved $286M to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$876K to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

33 households applied for aid $26K aid approved
2002

Severe Storms and Flooding

$223K to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
1999

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$192K to the City of Cedar Rapids for repairs
Linn County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids and the towns around it

Marion: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHiawatha: Low, mostly inland floodingRobins: Low, mostly inland floodingFairfax: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBertram: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCedar Rapids: Low, mostly inland flooding Cedar RapidsMarionHiawathaRobinsFairfaxBertram
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Marionmostly inland floodingModerate
Fairfaxmostly inland floodingModerate
Bertrammostly inland floodingModerate
Cedar Rapidsmostly inland floodingLow
Robinsmostly inland floodingLow
Hiawathamostly 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. Cedar Rapids covers 30 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cedar Rapids’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cedar Rapids. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Cedar Rapids total about $39.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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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