Natural hazards · Blue Rapids

Blue Rapids, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Blue Rapids comes from inland flooding, 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 Blue Rapids?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Blue Rapids to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding49%Tornadoes18%Strong wind11%Wildfire6%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Blue Rapids faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Wildfire

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Blue Rapids flood?

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

Disasters that hit Blue Rapids

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Blue RapidsDeclared for Marshall County only

2019

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

$25K to the City of Blue Rapids for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$20K to the City of Blue Rapids for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$855 to the City of Blue Rapids for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$48K to the City of Blue Rapids for repairs

Marshall County has had 16 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. Blue Rapids 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 Blue Rapids’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Blue Rapids. 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.