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Natural hazards · Goldfield

Goldfield, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Goldfield comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Goldfield?

53
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Goldfield to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought39%Inland flooding29%Cold waves12%Tornadoes9%Hail5%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Goldfield faces

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

Drought

39% of expected damage
Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Goldfield flood?

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

1paid claims since 2024
$2Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20242026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Goldfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Wright County.
Disasters that hit Goldfield

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GoldfieldDeclared for Wright County only
2015

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

$5K to the City of Goldfield for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

73 households applied for aid $145K aid approved $34K to the City of Goldfield for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

21 households applied for aid $21K aid approved $10K to the City of Goldfield for repairs
2007

Snow

$3K to the City of Goldfield for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$2K to the City of Goldfield for repairs
Wright County has had 22 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. Goldfield 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 Goldfield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Goldfield. 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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