Natural hazards · Piedmont

Piedmont, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Piedmont comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very 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 Piedmont?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Piedmont to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding33%Wildfire29%Ice storms12%Hail7%Strong wind5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Piedmont faces

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

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

29% of expected damage

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

Ice storms

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesWinter 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 Piedmont flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Greenwood County.

Disasters that hit Piedmont

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PiedmontDeclared for Greenwood County only

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Greenwood County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Piedmont

Piedmont and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Piedmontmostly inland floodingVery high

Otter Creekmostly inland floodingVery high

Union Centermostly inland floodingVery high

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