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Natural hazards · Runnells

Runnells, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Runnells comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Runnells?

28
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Runnells to be higher than in 28% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding44%Tornadoes17%Drought10%Cold waves8%Strong wind7%Heat waves6%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Runnells faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Runnells flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Runnells isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Polk County.
Disasters that hit Runnells

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RunnellsDeclared for Polk County only
2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid
2020

Severe Storms

7 households applied for aid $36K aid approved
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

52 households applied for aid $122K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

24 households applied for aid $15K aid approved
Polk County has had 19 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. Runnells 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 Runnells’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Runnells. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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