Natural hazards · Derby

Derby, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Derby comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Derby?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Derby to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought34%Inland flooding28%Cold waves12%Tornadoes12%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Derby faces

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

Drought

34% of expected damage

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Derby flood?

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

Disasters that hit Derby

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DerbyDeclared for Lucas County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved $25K to the City of Derby for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $3K aid approved $32K to the City of Derby for repairs

Lucas County has had 13 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. Derby 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 Derby’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Derby. 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.