Natural hazards · Kent

Kent, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kent 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 Kent?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kent to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and cold waves.

Drought39%Cold waves21%Inland flooding20%Tornadoes7%Heat waves6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Kent faces

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

Drought

39% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Kent flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Union County.

Disasters that hit Kent

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KentDeclared for Union County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid $784 aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

13 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

Union County has had 19 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. Kent 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 Kent’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Kent. 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.