Natural hazards · Decorah

Decorah, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Decorah comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 2016. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Decorah?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Decorah to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes20%Cold waves14%Hail8%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Decorah faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 68 years in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Decorah flood?

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

12paid claims since 2016

$169Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20162026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Winneshiek County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Decorah

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DecorahDeclared for Winneshiek County only

2024

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

$18K to the City of Decorah for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$37K to the City of Decorah for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$33K to the City of Decorah for repairs

2016

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$547K to the City of Decorah for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$67K to the City of Decorah for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

412 households applied for aid $818K aid approved $571K to the City of Decorah for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

21 households applied for aid $19K aid approved

Winneshiek County has had 19 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. Decorah 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 Decorah’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Decorah. 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.