Sibley’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sibley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Sibley’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Sibley flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sibley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Sibley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Osceola County.How exposed is Sibley?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.
Calmer than 695 of the 1,026 Iowa towns we cover.
Sibley is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Sibley faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Cold waves
Hail
Strong wind
6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sibley
Disasters that paid out in Sibley itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Sibley) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes143 households applied for aid$613K aid approved$251K to the City of Sibley for repairs
- 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$11K to the City of Sibley for repairs
- 2018Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding$19K to the City of Sibley for repairs
- 2013Severe Winter Storm$149K to the City of Sibley for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes18 households applied for aid$35K aid approved$26K to the City of Sibley for repairs
- 2007Snow$8K to the City of Sibley for repairs
Osceola County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Sibley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Sibley archive →Get ready for what Sibley actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in April–June
The month each of Osceola County’s 13 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Sibley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sibley.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sibley.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.