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Natural hazards · Elkhart

Elkhart, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elkhart comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Elkhart?

44
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elkhart to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding43%Drought31%Tornadoes10%Cold waves6%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Elkhart faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

31% of expected damage
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year 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 Elkhart flood?

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

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

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElkhartDeclared for Polk County only
2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid
2020

Severe Storms

5 households applied for aid $990 aid approved
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

15 households applied for aid $106K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

34 households applied for aid $16K aid approved $38K to the City of Elkhart for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
Polk County has had 19 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. Elkhart 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 Elkhart’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Elkhart. 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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