Natural hazards · Mount Sterling

Mount Sterling, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mount Sterling comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mount Sterling?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mount Sterling to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding47%Tornadoes13%Drought11%Heat waves10%Lightning7%Strong wind6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Mount Sterling 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 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lightning

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslides

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 Mount Sterling flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Van Buren County.

Disasters that hit Mount Sterling

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Mount Sterling itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Mount Sterling.

Brought FEMA money into Mount SterlingDeclared for Van Buren County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

Van Buren County has had 13 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. Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Mount Sterling. 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.