Natural hazards · Smithland

Smithland, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Smithland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Smithland?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Smithland to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding30%Drought21%Tornadoes19%Hail13%Cold waves8%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Smithland faces

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

21% of expected damage

Recorded about 48 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year 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 Smithland flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Smithland 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 Smithland

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SmithlandDeclared for Woodbury County only

2024

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

15 households applied for aid $228K aid approved $212K to the City of Smithland for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$213K to the City of Smithland for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$3K to the City of Smithland for repairs

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

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. Smithland 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 Smithland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Smithland. 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.