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Natural hazards · Union

Union, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Union comes from hail, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1990. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Union?

52
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Union to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail32%Inland flooding22%Drought21%Tornadoes10%Cold waves8%Strong wind5%Everything else1%
By hazard

What Union faces

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

Hail

32% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

21% of expected damage
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Union flood?

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

4paid claims since 1990
$10Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19902026

Biggest named events

  • Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $125
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Union isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hardin County.
Disasters that hit Union

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into UnionDeclared for Hardin County only
2020

Severe Storms

$409K to the City of Union for repairs
2014

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

$8K to the City of Union for repairs
2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$8K to the City of Union for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $21K aid approved
Hardin County has had 16 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. Union 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 Union’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Union. 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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