Natural hazards · Delaware

Delaware, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Delaware comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Delaware?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Delaware to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes13%Hail11%Cold waves9%Strong wind8%Drought6%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Delaware faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 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 Delaware flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Delaware County.

Disasters that hit Delaware

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DelawareDeclared for Delaware County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

Delaware County has had 15 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. Delaware 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 Delaware’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Delaware. 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.