Natural hazards · Welton

Welton, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Welton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2002. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Welton?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding39%Drought22%Strong wind13%Tornadoes12%Hail6%Cold waves6%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Welton faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

22% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 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 Welton flood?

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

3paid claims since 2002

$15Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20022026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clinton County.

Disasters that hit Welton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WeltonDeclared for Clinton County only

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$2K to the City of Welton for repairs

2002

Severe Storms and Flooding

$4K to the City of Welton for repairs

Clinton 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. Welton 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 Welton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Welton. 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.