Natural hazards · Vail

Vail, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Vail comes from drought, and overall the risk is high 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 Vail?

High

vs. U.S. communities

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

Drought40%Inland flooding33%Tornadoes13%Cold waves6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Vail faces

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

Drought

40% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Vail flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Vail isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Crawford County.

Disasters that hit Vail

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VailDeclared for Crawford County only

2010

Severe Winter Storm

$3K to the City of Vail for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $14K aid approved $5K to the City of Vail for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

6 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $1K to the City of Vail for repairs

Crawford County has had 21 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. Vail 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 Vail’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Vail. 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.