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Natural hazards · Elma

Elma, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elma comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2016. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Elma?

59
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elma to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding51%Drought17%Tornadoes13%Strong wind7%Hail6%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Elma 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

Drought

17% of expected damage
Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Elma flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Elma, from FEMA’s records.

4paid claims since 2016
$26Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20162026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Elma isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Howard County.
Disasters that hit Elma

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElmaDeclared for Howard County only
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$35K to the City of Elma for repairs
2016

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$66K to the City of Elma for repairs
2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$21K to the City of Elma for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $24K aid approved $23K to the City of Elma for repairs
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$6K to the City of Elma for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $491 aid approved $24K to the City of Elma for repairs
1999

Severe Storms and Flooding

$27K to the City of Elma for repairs
Howard County has had 20 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. Elma 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 Elma’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Elma. 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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