Natural hazards · Meriden

Meriden, IA natural hazards

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

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Meriden to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding43%Hail17%Drought14%Tornadoes12%Cold waves7%Strong wind5%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Meriden faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 25 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% 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 Meriden flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Meriden 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 Meriden

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MeridenDeclared for Cherokee County only

2024

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

2 households applied for aid

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$1K to the City of Meriden for repairs

2007

Snow

$1K to the City of Meriden 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. Meriden 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 Meriden’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Meriden. 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.