Natural hazards · Latimer

Latimer, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Latimer comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Latimer?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Latimer to be higher than in 40% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought52%Inland flooding18%Cold waves12%Tornadoes11%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Latimer faces

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

Drought

52% of expected damage

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Latimer flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Franklin County.

Disasters that hit Latimer

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LatimerDeclared for Franklin County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

36 households applied for aid $64K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

22 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $3K to the City of Latimer for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$2K to the City of Latimer for repairs

Franklin County has had 19 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. Latimer 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 Latimer’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Latimer. 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.