Natural hazards · Murray

Murray, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Murray comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Murray?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Murray to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought43%Inland flooding16%Cold waves16%Tornadoes11%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Murray 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 11 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years 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 Murray flood?

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

Disasters that hit Murray

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MurrayDeclared for Clarke County only

2024

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

3 households applied for aid

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

13 households applied for aid $61K aid approved $4K to the City of Murray for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the City of Murray for repairs

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