Natural hazards · Harlan

Harlan, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Harlan comes from hail, 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 Harlan?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Harlan to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail41%Inland flooding17%Drought14%Strong wind13%Tornadoes8%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Harlan faces

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

Hail

41% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 49 times a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Harlan flood?

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

Disasters that hit Harlan

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HarlanDeclared for Smith County only

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$25K to the Township of Harlan for repairs

Smith County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Harlan

Harlan and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Harlanmostly hailHigh

Garfieldmostly hailHigh

Houstonmostly hailHigh

Bannermostly hailHigh

Lawrencemostly hailHigh

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