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Natural hazards · Fairbank

Fairbank, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairbank comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1990. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Fairbank?

59
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding52%Drought12%Tornadoes10%Hail10%Strong wind7%Cold waves6%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Fairbank faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage
Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Hail

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce 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 Fairbank flood?

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

6paid claims since 1990
$56Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19902026

Biggest named events

  • Storm: 2 claims, $22K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Fairbank

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairbankDeclared for Buchanan County only
2017

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

$32K to the City of Fairbank for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$15K to the City of Fairbank for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $5K aid approved
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$6K to the City of Fairbank for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $4K aid approved
1999

Severe Storms and Flooding

$36K to the City of Fairbank for repairs
1999

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$77K to the City of Fairbank for repairs
Buchanan County has had 21 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. Fairbank 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 Fairbank’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Fairbank. 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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