Natural hazards · Dedham

Dedham, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dedham comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dedham?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dedham to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes24%Inland flooding22%Hail21%Strong wind13%Cold waves10%Drought9%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Dedham faces

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

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Dedham flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Carroll County.

Disasters that hit Dedham

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DedhamDeclared for Carroll County only

2010

Severe Winter Storm

$3K to the City of Dedham for repairs

2007

Snow

$3K to the City of Dedham for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Carroll County has had 14 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. Dedham 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 Dedham’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Dedham. 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.