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Natural hazards · Mediapolis

Mediapolis, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mediapolis comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Mediapolis?

65
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mediapolis to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding47%Drought14%Tornadoes10%Strong wind8%Hail7%Heat waves7%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Mediapolis faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold 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 Mediapolis flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Mediapolis isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Des Moines County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Mediapolis

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MediapolisDeclared for Des Moines County only
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $39K aid approved
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$6K to the City of Mediapolis for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
Des Moines County has had 24 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. Mediapolis 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 Mediapolis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Mediapolis. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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