Natural hazards · Newell

Newell, IA natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Newell to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding35%Tornadoes22%Hail16%Drought10%Cold waves9%Strong wind6%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Newell 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

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Hail

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% 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 Newell flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Buena Vista County.

Disasters that hit Newell

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NewellDeclared for Buena Vista County only

2024

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

1 household applied for aid

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$2K to the City of Newell for repairs

2007

Snow

$3K to the City of Newell for repairs

Buena Vista County has had 20 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. Newell 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 Newell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Newell. 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.