Mount Pleasant is calmer than 79% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mount Pleasant comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Mount Pleasant’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Mount Pleasant?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 21% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.
Calmer than 998 of the 1,026 Iowa towns we cover.
Mount Pleasant covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.
Does Mount Pleasant flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mount Pleasant. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
What Mount Pleasant faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Heat waves
Strong wind
Tornadoes
Hail
3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mount Pleasant
Disasters that paid out in Mount Pleasant itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Mount Pleasant) and its biggest flood years.
- 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the City of Mount Pleasant for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding18 households applied for aid$113K aid approved
- 2007Severe Winter Storms$32K to the City of Mount Pleasant for repairs
Henry County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Mount Pleasant after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mount Pleasant archive →Get ready for what Mount Pleasant actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Know the nearest cooling center or air-conditioned library.
- Drink water before you feel thirsty.
- Check on neighbors who live alone.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in April–June
The month each of Henry County’s 14 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Mount Pleasant’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Mount Pleasant.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Mount Pleasant, expected losses total about $3.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mount Pleasant.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.