Natural hazards · Leighton

Leighton, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Leighton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Leighton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Leighton to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding43%Drought16%Tornadoes14%Strong wind9%Cold waves7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Leighton faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Leighton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mahaska County.

Disasters that hit Leighton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LeightonDeclared for Mahaska County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

12 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Mahaska County has had 17 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. Leighton 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 Leighton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Leighton. 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.