Natural hazards · Marathon

Marathon, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Marathon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Marathon?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Marathon to be higher than in 28% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding30%Tornadoes21%Hail19%Drought10%Cold waves10%Strong wind7%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Marathon faces

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Hail

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Marathon flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Buena Vista County.

Disasters that hit Marathon

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MarathonDeclared for Buena Vista County only

2024

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

8 households applied for aid $54K aid approved

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$8K to the City of Marathon for repairs

2014

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

$18K to the City of Marathon for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$3K to the City of Marathon for repairs

Buena Vista County has had 20 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. Marathon 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 Marathon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Marathon. 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.