Natural hazards · Melrose

Melrose, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Melrose comes from drought, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Melrose?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Melrose to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought43%Inland flooding27%Tornadoes11%Cold waves7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Melrose faces

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

Drought

43% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Melrose flood?

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

1paid claims since 1982

$355paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

Disasters that hit Melrose

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MelroseDeclared for Monroe County only

2015

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

$5K to the City of Melrose for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

7 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $14K to the City of Melrose for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $1K aid approved $24K to the City of Melrose for repairs

Monroe County has had 14 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. Melrose 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 Melrose’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Melrose. 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.