Natural hazards · Rolla

Rolla, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rolla comes from drought, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rolla?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rolla to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought.

Drought61%Tornadoes8%Inland flooding7%Wildfire7%Hail5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Rolla faces

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

Drought

61% of expected damage

Recorded about 142 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 2% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

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

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Rolla flood?

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

Disasters that hit Rolla

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RollaDeclared for Morton County only

2017

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$13K to the City of Rolla for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the City of Rolla for repairs

Morton County has had 6 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

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