Center’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Center comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1993.
What stands out about Center’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
The storms Center remembers
None of the disasters declared for Ottawa County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Center itself in FEMA’s records.
- 199311 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Ottawa County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Center after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Center archive →How exposed is Center?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.
Rated higher than 1,823 of the 1,995 Kansas towns we cover.
Center covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Center faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Ice storms
Hail
Strong wind
Does Center flood? Sometimes: 15 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Center, from FEMA’s records.
- The Midwest Flooding11 claims · $58K
Center isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Ottawa County.Get ready for what Center actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Center and its neighbors
Center ranks 2nd calmest of 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center | High | inland flooding | 15 |
| Minneapolis | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Garfield | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Culver | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Henry | High | inland flooding | 0 |
| Concord | High | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in May–July
The month each of Ottawa County’s 15 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Center’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Center.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Center, expected losses total about $4.3M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Center.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.