Natural hazards · West Branch

West Branch, KS natural hazards

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

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West Branch?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Branch to be higher than in 71% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding40%Tornadoes19%Strong wind8%Hail8%Ice storms7%Heat waves7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What West Branch faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Ice storms

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Lower here

Winter weatherCold 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 West Branch flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marion County.

Disasters that hit West Branch

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Marion County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching West Branch itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into West BranchDeclared for Marion County only

Marion County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around West Branch

West Branch and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

West Branchmostly inland floodingHigh

East Branchmostly inland floodingHigh

Meridianmostly inland floodingHigh

Highlandmostly inland floodingModerate

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