Natural hazards · Sylvia

Sylvia, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sylvia comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sylvia?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sylvia to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire29%Inland flooding20%Hail15%Tornadoes15%Strong wind6%Cold waves5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Sylvia faces

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

Wildfire

29% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Sylvia flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Reno County.

Disasters that hit Sylvia

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SylviaDeclared for Reno County only

2019

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

$35K to the City of Sylvia for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$24K to the City of Sylvia for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $275 aid approved

Reno County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and fires.

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