Natural hazards · Wiota

Wiota, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wiota comes from drought, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wiota?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wiota to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought34%Inland flooding23%Cold waves19%Tornadoes12%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Wiota 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 10 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% 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 5 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Wiota flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cass County.

Disasters that hit Wiota

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WiotaDeclared for Cass County only

2010

Severe Winter Storm

$2K to the City of Wiota for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Cass County has had 17 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. Wiota 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 Wiota’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wiota. 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.

Wiota, IA natural hazards

How exposed is Wiota?

What Wiota faces

Drought

Inland flooding

Cold waves

Tornadoes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Wiota flood?

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Winter Storm

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

Nearby