Natural hazards · Scammon

Scammon, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Scammon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2009. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Scammon?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Scammon to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding45%Drought18%Cold waves13%Tornadoes11%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Scammon faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Scammon flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Scammon, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2009

$15Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20092026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cherokee County.

Disasters that hit Scammon

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ScammonDeclared for Cherokee County only

2009

Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

$52K to the City of Scammon for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$24K to the City of Scammon for repairs

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the City of Scammon for repairs

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

Around Scammon

Scammon and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Scammonmostly inland floodingHigh

Mineralmostly inland floodingHigh

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