Natural hazards · Smith Center

Smith Center, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Smith Center comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Smith Center?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Smith Center to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and hail.

Tornadoes24%Hail21%Inland flooding18%Strong wind14%Ice storms6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Smith Center faces

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

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 36 years in the area

Hail

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 9% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Winter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Smith Center flood?

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

Disasters that hit Smith Center

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Smith CenterDeclared for Smith County only

2013

Snowstorm

$6K to the City of Smith Center for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$1K to the City of Smith Center for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

94 households applied for aid $45K aid approved $3K to the City of Smith Center for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$7K to the City of Smith Center for repairs

Smith County has had 13 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. Smith Center 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 Smith Center’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Smith Center. 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.