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Natural hazards · Colo

Colo, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Colo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Colo?

48
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Colo to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding37%Drought34%Tornadoes16%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Colo faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

34% of expected damage
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% 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 Colo flood?

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

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

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColoDeclared for Story County only
2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $23K aid approved
2020

Severe Storms

10 households applied for aid $104K to the City of Colo for repairs
2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$6K to the City of Colo for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $1K to the City of Colo for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $3K to the City of Colo for repairs
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$8K to the City of Colo for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

16 households applied for aid $34K aid approved $2K to the City of Colo for repairs
Story 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. Colo 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 Colo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Colo. 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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