Natural hazards · Chillicothe

Chillicothe, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chillicothe comes from drought, 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 Chillicothe?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chillicothe to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought54%Inland flooding24%Tornadoes9%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Chillicothe faces

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

Drought

54% of expected damage

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Chillicothe flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wapello County.

Disasters that hit Chillicothe

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChillicotheDeclared for Wapello County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

Wapello County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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