Natural hazards · Crescent

Crescent, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Crescent comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2019. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Crescent?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Crescent to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding32%Tornadoes24%Drought12%Hail10%Cold waves7%Strong wind7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Crescent faces

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Hail

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% 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 Crescent flood?

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

1paid claims since 2019

$133Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20192026

Biggest named events

March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $133K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Crescent 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

48flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Crescent

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CrescentDeclared for Pottawattamie County only

2024

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

34 households applied for aid $108K aid approved $8K to the City of Crescent for repairs

2024

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

35 households applied for aid $48K aid approved

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

41 households applied for aid $94K aid approved $141K to the City of Crescent for repairs

2011

Flooding

86 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $1.4M to the City of Crescent for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storm

$870 to the City of Crescent for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$2K to the City of Crescent for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $1K aid approved $15K to the City of Crescent for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

11 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $7K to the City of Crescent 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. Crescent 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 Crescent’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Crescent. 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.