Natural hazards · Walker

Walker, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Walker comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2009. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Walker?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Walker to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding40%Tornadoes18%Drought12%Strong wind10%Hail8%Cold waves8%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Walker faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 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 Walker flood?

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

4paid claims since 2009

$19Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

20092026

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

Insurance rates: Linn County.

Disasters that hit Walker

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WalkerDeclared for Linn County only

2020

Severe Storms

5 households applied for aid

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$18K to the City of Walker for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

25 households applied for aid $27K aid approved $4K to the City of Walker for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$10K to the City of Walker for repairs

Linn County has had 18 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. Walker 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 Walker’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Walker. 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.

Walker, IA natural hazards

How exposed is Walker?

What Walker faces

Inland flooding

Tornadoes

Drought

Strong wind

Hail

Cold waves

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Walker flood?

Homes that flooded again and again

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Winter Storms

How to read this page

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