Natural hazards · Decatur

Decatur, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Decatur comes from drought, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Decatur?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Decatur to be higher than in 38% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought25%Inland flooding24%Tornadoes15%Cold waves15%Heat waves10%Strong wind5%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Decatur faces

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

Drought

25% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Decatur flood?

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

Disasters that hit Decatur

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DecaturDeclared for Decatur County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

Decatur County has had 12 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. Decatur 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 Decatur’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Decatur. 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.