Natural hazards · Chester

Chester, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chester?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chester to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding51%Drought17%Tornadoes13%Strong wind7%Hail6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Chester faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

17% of expected damage

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Chester flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Howard County.

Disasters that hit Chester

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChesterDeclared for Howard County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $4K to the City of Chester for repairs

Howard County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Chester

Chester and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Chestermostly inland floodingModerate

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