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Natural hazards · Waterville

Waterville, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waterville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Waterville?

79
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waterville to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding69%Tornadoes9%Cold waves9%Hail6%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Waterville faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Waterville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Waterville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Allamakee County.
Disasters that hit Waterville

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WatervilleDeclared for Allamakee County only
2016

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$5K to the City of Waterville for repairs
2014

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

$3K to the City of Waterville for repairs
2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$42K to the City of Waterville for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $168 aid approved
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $570 aid approved
Allamakee 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. Waterville 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 Waterville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Waterville. 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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