Natural hazards · Wells

Wells, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wells comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wells?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wells to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes15%Ice storms14%Hail14%Strong wind8%Wildfire6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Wells faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Ice storms

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Wildfire

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Winter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Wells flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ottawa County.

Disasters that hit Wells

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WellsDeclared for Ottawa County only

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $799 aid approved

Ottawa County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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