Natural hazards · Hills

Hills, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hills comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2008. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hills?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hills to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding36%Tornadoes34%Strong wind10%Cold waves8%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Hills faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

34% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 33 years in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Hills flood?

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

1paid claims since 2008

$22Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20082026

Biggest named events

Storm: 1 claim, $22K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Johnson County.

Disasters that hit Hills

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HillsDeclared for Johnson County only

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$66K to the City of Hills for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

27 households applied for aid $16K aid approved $48K to the City of Hills for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$2K to the City of Hills for repairs

Johnson County has had 20 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. Hills 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 Hills’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hills. 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.

Hills, IA natural hazards

How exposed is Hills?

What Hills faces

Inland flooding

Tornadoes

Strong wind

Cold waves

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Hills flood?

Biggest named events

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Winter Storms

How to read this page

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