Natural hazards · Kanawha

Kanawha, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kanawha comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kanawha?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kanawha to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought37%Inland flooding24%Cold waves19%Tornadoes11%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Kanawha faces

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

Drought

37% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Kanawha flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hancock County.

Disasters that hit Kanawha

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KanawhaDeclared for Hancock County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

23 households applied for aid $37K aid approved $46K to the City of Kanawha for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $3K to the City of Kanawha for repairs

Hancock County has had 13 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. Kanawha 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 Kanawha’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kanawha. 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.

Kanawha, IA natural hazards

How exposed is Kanawha?

What Kanawha faces

Drought

Inland flooding

Cold waves

Tornadoes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Kanawha flood?

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

Nearby