Natural hazards · Hamburg

Hamburg, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hamburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 82 claims here since 1993. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hamburg?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding41%Tornadoes17%Drought15%Hail9%Cold waves7%Heat waves6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Hamburg faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Drought

15% of expected damage

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Hamburg flood?

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

82paid claims since 1993

$4.0Mpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 52 claims, $3.6M
Midwest Flooding: 17 claims, $296K
Late spring storms: 5 claims, $24K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Fremont County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

82flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Hamburg

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HamburgDeclared for Fremont County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

324 households applied for aid $2.2M aid approved $3.1M to the City of Hamburg for repairs

2011

Flooding

85 households applied for aid $224K aid approved $1.1M to the City of Hamburg for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$14K to the City of Hamburg for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $4K aid approved $155K to the City of Hamburg for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

7 households applied for aid $18K aid approved $118K to the City of Hamburg for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

Fremont County has had 17 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. Hamburg 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 Hamburg’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hamburg. 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.

Hamburg, IA natural hazards

How exposed is Hamburg?

What Hamburg faces

Inland flooding

Tornadoes

Drought

Hail

Cold waves

Heat waves

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Hamburg flood?

Biggest named events

Homes that flooded again and again

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms and Flooding

Flooding

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

Nearby