Natural hazards · Rickardsville

Rickardsville, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rickardsville comes from inland flooding, 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 Rickardsville?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rickardsville to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding52%Tornadoes17%Cold waves10%Hail9%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Rickardsville faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Rickardsville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dubuque County.

Disasters that hit Rickardsville

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RickardsvilleDeclared for Dubuque County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$14K to the City of Rickardsville for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$12K to the City of Rickardsville for repairs

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