Natural hazards · Ellsworth

Ellsworth, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ellsworth comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ellsworth?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ellsworth to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding36%Drought27%Tornadoes14%Cold waves10%Strong wind6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Ellsworth faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

27% of expected damage

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Ellsworth flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hamilton County.

Disasters that hit Ellsworth

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EllsworthDeclared for Hamilton County only

2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$12K to the City of Ellsworth for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

14 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $3K to the City of Ellsworth for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $4K aid approved $22K to the City of Ellsworth for repairs

Hamilton 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. Ellsworth 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 Ellsworth’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ellsworth. 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.