Natural hazards · Hawarden

Hawarden, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hawarden comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2011. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hawarden?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hawarden to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding41%Hail26%Tornadoes15%Cold waves7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Hawarden 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

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Hawarden flood?

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

6paid claims since 2011

$481Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

June Midwest Flooding: 5 claims, $478K
Late spring storms: 1 claim, $3K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sioux County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

16flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Hawarden

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HawardenDeclared for Sioux County only

2024

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

302 households applied for aid $4.2M aid approved $1.2M to the City of Hawarden for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$12K to the City of Hawarden for repairs

2014

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

$30K to the City of Hawarden for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

6 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$8K to the City of Hawarden for repairs

Sioux County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Hawarden

Hawarden and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Hawardenmostly inland floodingHigh

Virginiamostly inland floodingModerate

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. Hawarden 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 Hawarden’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hawarden. 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.