Natural hazards · Union Center

Union Center, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Union Center comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community.

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

How exposed is Union Center?

85
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Union Center to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding37%Wildfire30%Tornadoes13%Everything else21%
By hazard

What Union Center faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

30% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Union Center flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Union Center isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Elk County.
Disasters that hit Union Center

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Elk County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Union Center itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Union CenterDeclared for Elk County only
Elk County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Union Center

Union Center and the towns around it

Howard: Very high, mostly inland floodingOtter Creek: Very high, mostly inland floodingGreenfield: Very high, mostly inland floodingPaw Paw: Very high, mostly inland floodingUnion: High, mostly inland floodingWildcat: Very high, mostly inland floodingHarvey: Very high, mostly inland floodingPiedmont: Very high, mostly inland floodingElk Falls: Very high, mostly inland floodingPainterhood: Very high, mostly inland floodingGlencoe: High, mostly inland floodingTwin Grove: Very high, mostly inland floodingFall River: Very high, mostly inland floodingEureka: Very high, mostly inland floodingSpring Creek: Very high, mostly inland floodingBeaumont: High, mostly inland floodingHickory: High, mostly inland floodingWindsor: Very high, mostly inland floodingLiberty: Very high, mostly inland floodingClay: High, mostly inland floodingCenter: Very high, mostly wildfiresOmnia: Very high, mostly inland floodingUnion Center: Very high, mostly inland flooding Union CenterHowardOtter CreekGreenfieldPaw PawUnionWildcatHarveyPiedmont
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Otter Creekmostly inland floodingVery high
Piedmontmostly inland floodingVery high
Union Centermostly inland floodingVery high
Howardmostly inland floodingVery high
Greenfieldmostly inland floodingVery high
Paw Pawmostly inland floodingVery high
Wildcatmostly inland floodingVery high
Harveymostly inland floodingVery high
Unionmostly 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. Union 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 Union Center’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Union 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.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Union Center, KSElk CountyView boundary

Nearby

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Union Center is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01