Natural hazards · Swisher

Swisher, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Swisher comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2013. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Swisher?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Swisher to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes37%Inland flooding28%Strong wind12%Cold waves10%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Swisher faces

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

Tornadoes

37% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

12% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Swisher flood?

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

2paid claims since 2013

$14Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20132026

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. Swisher isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Johnson County.

Disasters that hit Swisher

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SwisherDeclared for Johnson County only

2020

Severe Storms

$190K to the City of Swisher for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $899 aid approved

Johnson County has had 20 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. Swisher 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 Swisher’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Swisher. 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.