Natural hazards · Sumner

Sumner, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sumner comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 17 claims here since 2004. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Sumner?

50
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sumner to be higher than in 50% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding60%Tornadoes18%Strong wind7%Hail5%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Sumner faces

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

Inland flooding

60% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Sumner flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sumner, from FEMA’s records.

17paid claims since 2004
$361Kpaid to owners
4homes flooded more than once
20042026

Biggest named events

  • Storm: 1 claim, $5K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

13flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Sumner

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SumnerDeclared for Bremer County only
2017

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

$364K to the City of Sumner for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

37 households applied for aid $51K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

14 households applied for aid $11K aid approved $22K to the City of Sumner for repairs
Bremer County has had 15 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. Sumner covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sumner’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sumner. 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 Sumner total about $962K 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01