Natural hazards · Remsen

Remsen, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Remsen comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Remsen?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding36%Tornadoes21%Drought15%Hail15%Cold waves6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Remsen faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Drought

15% of expected damage

Recorded about 27 times a year in the area

Hail

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Remsen flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Plymouth County.

Disasters that hit Remsen

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RemsenDeclared for Plymouth County only

2024

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

1 household applied for aid

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$37K to the City of Remsen for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$2K to the City of Remsen for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$10K to the City of Remsen for repairs

2007

Snow

$8K to the City of Remsen for repairs

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