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Natural hazards · Sioux Rapids

Sioux Rapids, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sioux Rapids comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Sioux Rapids?

76
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sioux Rapids to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding40%Hail26%Cold waves11%Tornadoes10%Strong wind6%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Sioux Rapids faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

26% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Sioux Rapids flood?

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

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Sioux Rapids

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Sioux RapidsDeclared for Buena Vista County only
2024

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

53 households applied for aid $597K aid approved $1.2M to the City of Sioux Rapids for repairs
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$28K to the City of Sioux Rapids for repairs
2018

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

$65K to the City of Sioux Rapids for repairs
2014

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

$34K to the City of Sioux Rapids for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$5K to the City of Sioux Rapids for repairs
2007

Snow

$3K to the City of Sioux Rapids for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
Buena Vista County has had 20 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. Sioux Rapids 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 Sioux Rapids’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sioux Rapids. 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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