TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
LakotaGood night
Natural hazards · Lakota

Lakota, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lakota comes from drought, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Lakota?

37
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lakota to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought37%Inland flooding26%Cold waves17%Tornadoes13%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Lakota 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

26% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 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 Lakota flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Lakota isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kossuth County.
Disasters that hit Lakota

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LakotaDeclared for Kossuth County only
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$53K to the City of Lakota for repairs
2014

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

$3K to the City of Lakota for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
2007

Snow

$1K to the City of Lakota for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved
Kossuth 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. Lakota 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 Lakota’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lakota. 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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Lakota, IAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Lakota is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map