Natural hazards · Harcourt

Harcourt, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Harcourt comes from drought, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Harcourt?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Harcourt to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and tornadoes.

Drought33%Tornadoes24%Inland flooding21%Hail13%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Harcourt faces

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

Drought

33% of expected damage

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Harcourt flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Webster County.

Disasters that hit Harcourt

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HarcourtDeclared for Webster County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

8 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

30 households applied for aid $38K aid approved $15K to the City of Harcourt for repairs

2007

Snow

$4K to the City of Harcourt for repairs

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