Natural hazards · Maxwell

Maxwell, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Maxwell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1993. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Maxwell?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Maxwell to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding37%Drought34%Tornadoes16%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Maxwell faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

34% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Maxwell flood?

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

12paid claims since 1993

$143Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 4 claims, $37K
Storm: 2 claims, $21K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Story County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

13flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Maxwell

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MaxwellDeclared for Story County only

2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2020

Severe Storms

28 households applied for aid $27K aid approved $121K to the City of Maxwell for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$10K to the City of Maxwell for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$36K to the City of Maxwell for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

36 households applied for aid $115K aid approved $36K to the City of Maxwell for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

20 households applied for aid $26K aid approved $16K to the City of Maxwell for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $14K aid approved $33K to the City of Maxwell for repairs

Story 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. Maxwell 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 Maxwell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Maxwell. 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.