Lucas’s biggest natural hazard is drought
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lucas comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1993. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Lucas’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Lucas?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.
Rated higher than 623 of the 1,026 Iowa towns we cover.
Lucas is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Lucas faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Drought
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Tornadoes
Does Lucas flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lucas, from FEMA’s records.
- The Midwest Flooding2 claims · $12K
4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lucas
Disasters that paid out in Lucas itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Lucas) and its biggest flood years.
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes8 households applied for aid$8K aid approved$8K to the City of Lucas for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding14 households applied for aid$39K aid approved$20K to the City of Lucas for repairs
- 2007Severe Winter Storm$23K to the City of Lucas for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 household applied for aid$6K aid approved$2K to the City of Lucas for repairs
Lucas County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Lucas after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lucas archive →Get ready for what Lucas actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- On a well? Know how deep it is and watch for sputtering.
- Follow the town’s watering limits.
- Fix drips: they add up.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in April–June
The month each of Lucas County’s 13 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Lucas’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lucas.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lucas.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.