Natural hazards · Marcus

Marcus, IA natural hazards

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

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Marcus to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding34%Hail19%Tornadoes15%Drought13%Cold waves9%Strong wind6%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Marcus faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

13% of expected damage

Recorded about 27 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% 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 Marcus flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cherokee County.

Disasters that hit Marcus

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MarcusDeclared for Cherokee County only

2024

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

1 household applied for aid

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$2K to the City of Marcus for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$5K to the City of Marcus for repairs

2007

Snow

$3K to the City of Marcus for repairs

Cherokee County has had 21 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. Marcus 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 Marcus’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Marcus. 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.