Natural hazards · Wapello

Wapello, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wapello comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1993. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wapello?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wapello to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and strong winds.

Inland flooding43%Strong wind17%Tornadoes10%Hail8%Drought8%Heat waves7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Wapello faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold 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 Wapello flood?

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

6paid claims since 1993

$221Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

Severe flooding: 1 claim, $15K
Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $22K

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

Insurance rates: Louisa County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

34flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Wapello

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WapelloDeclared for Louisa County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

25 households applied for aid $29K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

78 households applied for aid $393K aid approved $14K to the City of Wapello for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$1K to the City of Wapello for repairs

Louisa County has had 17 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. Wapello 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 Wapello’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wapello. 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.