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Natural hazards · Ruthven

Ruthven, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ruthven comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Ruthven?

43
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ruthven to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and cold waves.

Drought24%Cold waves24%Hail19%Inland flooding15%Tornadoes9%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Ruthven faces

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

Drought

24% of expected damage
Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Hail

19% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 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 9 years 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 Ruthven flood?

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

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

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RuthvenDeclared for Palo Alto County only
2024

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

27 households applied for aid $152K aid approved $30K to the City of Ruthven for repairs
2018

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

$12K to the City of Ruthven for repairs
2014

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

$4K to the City of Ruthven for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$6K to the City of Ruthven for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$3K to the City of Ruthven for repairs
2007

Snow

$2K to the City of Ruthven for repairs
Palo Alto County has had 21 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. Ruthven 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 Ruthven’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ruthven. 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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