Natural hazards · Patterson

Patterson, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Patterson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1999. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Patterson?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Patterson to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding49%Tornadoes13%Drought13%Strong wind7%Cold waves6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Patterson faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Drought

13% of expected damage

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Patterson flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Patterson, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 1999

$4Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19992026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Madison County.

Disasters that hit Patterson

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PattersonDeclared for Madison County only

2007

Severe Winter Storm

$859 to the City of Patterson for repairs

Madison County has had 18 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. Patterson 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 Patterson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Patterson. 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.