Natural hazards · Hancock

Hancock, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hancock comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hancock?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hancock to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding37%Tornadoes20%Drought12%Hail11%Cold waves8%Strong wind7%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Hancock faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Hancock flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pottawattamie County.

Disasters that hit Hancock

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HancockDeclared for Pottawattamie County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$28K to the City of Hancock for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$793 to the City of Hancock for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $6K aid approved $16K to the City of Hancock for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved $783 to the City of Hancock for repairs

Pottawattamie County has had 24 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. Hancock 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 Hancock’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hancock. 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.