Natural hazards · Merrill

Merrill, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Merrill comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2025. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Merrill?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Merrill to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding35%Tornadoes20%Hail15%Drought10%Cold waves7%Wildfire5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Merrill faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Hail

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 26 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Merrill flood?

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

1paid claims since 2025

$23Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20252026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Plymouth County.

Disasters that hit Merrill

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MerrillDeclared for Plymouth County only

2024

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

3 households applied for aid $51K aid approved $129K to the City of Merrill for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the City of Merrill for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$3K to the City of Merrill for repairs

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