Natural hazards · Winthrop

Winthrop, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Winthrop comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Winthrop?

52
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding43%Drought23%Hail11%Tornadoes9%Strong wind7%Cold waves6%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Winthrop 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 64% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

23% of expected damage
Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places
Recorded about 8 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 Winthrop flood?

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

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

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WinthropDeclared for Buchanan County only
2018

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

$5K to the City of Winthrop for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

13 households applied for aid $13K aid approved $4K to the City of Winthrop for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $9K aid approved $5K to the City of Winthrop for repairs
Buchanan County has had 21 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. Winthrop 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 Winthrop’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Winthrop. 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