Natural hazards · Fairfield

Fairfield, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairfield comes from heat waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fairfield?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fairfield to be higher than in 17% of U.S. communities, mostly from heat waves and inland flooding.

Heat waves27%Inland flooding24%Tornadoes19%Strong wind9%Lightning8%Hail7%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Fairfield faces

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

Heat waves

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 9% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lightning

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesEarthquakesLandslides

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingWildfireDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Fairfield flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Fairfield

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairfieldDeclared for Jefferson County only

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$29K to the City of Fairfield for repairs

Jefferson County has had 9 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. Fairfield covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Fairfield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Fairfield. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Fairfield total about $622K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.