Natural hazards · Early

Early, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Early comes from drought, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Early?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Early to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and hail.

Drought32%Hail23%Inland flooding18%Tornadoes15%Cold waves8%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Early faces

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

Drought

32% of expected damage

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Hail

23% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Early flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sac County.

Disasters that hit Early

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EarlyDeclared for Sac County only

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

$52K to the City of Early for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storm

$12K to the City of Early for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$2K to the City of Early for repairs

2007

Snow

$993 to the City of Early for repairs

Sac County has had 17 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. Early 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 Early’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Early. 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.