Natural hazards · Ottosen

Ottosen, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ottosen comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ottosen?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ottosen to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought51%Inland flooding18%Cold waves13%Tornadoes9%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Ottosen faces

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

Drought

51% of expected damage

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% 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 Ottosen flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Humboldt County.

Disasters that hit Ottosen

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OttosenDeclared for Humboldt County only

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved

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