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Natural hazards · Grimes

Grimes, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Grimes comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2010. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Grimes?

13
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Grimes to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding40%Tornadoes26%Strong wind9%Heat waves8%Cold waves7%Hail6%Everything else4%
By hazard

What Grimes faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 13% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

26% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Strong wind

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Grimes flood?

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

3paid claims since 2010
$28Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20102026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Grimes isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Polk County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Grimes

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GrimesDeclared for Polk County only
2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

16 households applied for aid $20K aid approved
2024

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

2 households applied for aid
2020

Severe Storms

15 households applied for aid $57K to the City of Grimes for repairs
2018

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

$35K to the City of Grimes for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

58 households applied for aid $104K aid approved $38K to the City of Grimes for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $4K aid approved
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$18K to the City of Grimes for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $6K aid approved
Polk County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Grimes

Grimes and the towns around it

Urbandale: Low, mostly inland floodingJohnston: Very low, mostly inland floodingDes Moines: Low, mostly inland floodingClive: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGrimes: Very low, mostly inland flooding GrimesUrbandaleJohnston
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Urbandalemostly inland floodingLow
Johnstonmostly inland floodingVery low
Grimesmostly inland floodingVery low
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. Grimes covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Grimes’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Grimes. 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 Grimes total about $2.0M 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.

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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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