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Natural hazards · Fairfax

Fairfax, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairfax comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1982. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Fairfax?

43
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fairfax to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding46%Tornadoes20%Strong wind11%Cold waves9%Hail8%Everything else6%
By hazard

What Fairfax faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Strong wind

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Fairfax flood?

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

5paid claims since 1982
$99Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19822026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Fairfax isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Linn County.
Disasters that hit Fairfax

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairfaxDeclared for Linn County only
2020

Severe Storms

63 households applied for aid $5K aid approved $232K to the City of Fairfax for repairs
2014

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

$42K to the City of Fairfax for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $15K aid approved $6K to the City of Fairfax for repairs
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$10K to the City of Fairfax for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
Linn County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Fairfax

Fairfax and the towns around it

Cedar Rapids: Low, mostly inland floodingMarion: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHiawatha: Low, mostly inland floodingRobins: Low, mostly inland floodingBertram: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFairfax: Moderate, mostly inland flooding FairfaxCedar Rapids
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Fairfaxmostly inland floodingModerate
Cedar Rapidsmostly inland floodingLow
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. Fairfax 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 Fairfax’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Fairfax. 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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