Natural hazards · Sergeant Bluff

Sergeant Bluff, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sergeant Bluff comes from tornadoes, 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 Sergeant Bluff?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sergeant Bluff to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes39%Inland flooding31%Cold waves13%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Sergeant Bluff faces

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

Tornadoes

39% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Sergeant Bluff flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Woodbury County.

Disasters that hit Sergeant Bluff

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Sergeant BluffDeclared for Woodbury County only

2024

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

4 households applied for aid

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $23K aid approved $93K to the City of Sergeant Bluff for repairs

2011

Flooding

$78K to the City of Sergeant Bluff for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$19K to the City of Sergeant Bluff for repairs

2007

Snow

$9K to the City of Sergeant Bluff for repairs

Woodbury County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Sergeant Bluff

Sergeant Bluff and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Sioux Citymostly tornadoesModerate

Sergeant Bluffmostly tornadoesLow

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. Sergeant Bluff covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sergeant Bluff’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sergeant Bluff. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Sergeant Bluff total about $2.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.