Plumb’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Plumb comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Plumb’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Plumb flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Plumb. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Plumb isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Wabaunsee County.How exposed is Plumb?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.
Rated higher than 1,914 of the 1,995 Kansas towns we cover.
Plumb is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Plumb faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Wildfire
Tornadoes
4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Plumb
Disasters that paid out in Plumb itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Township of Plumb) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Severe Winter Storm$86K to the Township of Plumb for repairs
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding$13K to the Township of Plumb for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm$58K to the Township of Plumb for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and Flooding$3K to the Township of Plumb for repairs
Wabaunsee County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Plumb after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Plumb archive →Get ready for what Plumb 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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.
- 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.
Plumb and its neighbors
Plumb ranks 2nd calmest of 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumb | Very high | inland flooding | 0 |
| Wilmington | Very high | inland flooding | 0 |
| Mission Creek | Very high | inland flooding | 0 |
| Waterloo | Very high | inland flooding | 0 |
| Burlingame | High | inland flooding | 4 |
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 April–June
The month each of Wabaunsee County’s 22 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 Plumb’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Plumb.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Plumb.
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. Weather alerts: National Weather Service. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.