Natural hazards · Le Mars

Le Mars, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Le Mars comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1985. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Le Mars?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Le Mars to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding40%Tornadoes33%Cold waves8%Hail5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Le Mars faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

33% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Le Mars flood?

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

1paid claims since 1985

$443paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19852026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Plymouth County.

Disasters that hit Le Mars

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Le MarsDeclared for Plymouth County only

2024

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

23 households applied for aid $75K aid approved $747K to the City of Le Mars for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$296K to the City of Le Mars for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$114K to the City of Le Mars for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$31K to the City of Le Mars for repairs

2007

Snow

$18K to the City of Le Mars for repairs

Plymouth County has had 14 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. Le Mars covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Le Mars’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Le Mars. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Le Mars total about $4.3M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.