Natural hazards · Whiting

Whiting, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Whiting comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1993. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Whiting?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Whiting to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought34%Inland flooding27%Tornadoes14%Hail12%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Whiting faces

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

Drought

34% of expected damage

Recorded about 39 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Hail

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Whiting flood?

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

2paid claims since 1993

$4Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $3K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Monona County.

Disasters that hit Whiting

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WhitingDeclared for Monona County only

2025

Severe Winter Storm

$13K to the City of Whiting for repairs

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

2011

Flooding

2 households applied for aid $21K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved

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