Natural hazards · Walnut

Walnut, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Walnut comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Walnut?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Walnut to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire35%Inland flooding27%Tornadoes16%Cold waves6%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Walnut faces

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

Wildfire

35% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Walnut flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Butler County.

Disasters that hit Walnut

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WalnutDeclared for Butler County only

2019

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

$28K to the Township of Walnut for repairs

2015

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

$83K to the Township of Walnut for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$67K to the Township of Walnut for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$44K to the Township of Walnut for repairs

2005

Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and Flooding

$1K to the Township of Walnut for repairs

Butler County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Walnut

Walnut and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Walnutmostly wildfiresVery high

Bloomingtonmostly wildfiresVery high

Augustamostly inland floodingHigh

Douglassmostly inland floodingHigh

Pleasantmostly tornadoesModerate

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