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Natural hazards · Defiance

Defiance, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Defiance comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 Defiance?

68
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Defiance to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding31%Tornadoes20%Drought17%Hail12%Cold waves12%Strong wind5%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Defiance faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Drought

17% of expected damage
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Hail

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% 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 Defiance flood?

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

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

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DefianceDeclared for Shelby County only
2024

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

11 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $23K aid approved
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

5 households applied for aid $1K aid approved
2010

Severe Winter Storm

$6K to the City of Defiance for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$2K to the City of Defiance for repairs
2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid $11K aid approved
2007

Snow

$2K to the City of Defiance for repairs
Shelby County has had 18 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. Defiance 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 Defiance’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Defiance. 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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