Natural hazards · Bluff

Bluff, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bluff comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bluff?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bluff to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes21%Drought12%Hail9%Cold waves8%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Bluff faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 64 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce 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 Bluff flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Sumner County.

Disasters that hit Bluff

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BluffDeclared for Sumner County only

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$28K to the Township of Bluff for repairs

Sumner County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Bluff

Bluff and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Township 4mostly droughtHigh

Bluffmostly inland floodingHigh

Caldwellmostly inland floodingHigh

Morrismostly inland floodingHigh

Chikaskiamostly inland floodingHigh

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. Bluff 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 Bluff’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Bluff. 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.