Natural hazards · West Bend

West Bend, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West Bend comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate 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 West Bend?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Bend to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought27%Inland flooding22%Cold waves19%Hail13%Tornadoes12%Everything else8%

By hazard

What West Bend faces

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

Drought

27% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Lower here

Ice 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 West Bend flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Palo Alto County.

Disasters that hit West Bend

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into West BendDeclared for Palo Alto County only

2024

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

6 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

$177K to the City of West Bend for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$6K to the City of West Bend for repairs

2007

Snow

$5K to the City of West Bend for repairs

Palo Alto 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. West Bend 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 West Bend’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of West Bend. 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.