Natural hazards · Western

Western, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Western comes from drought, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Western?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Western to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought23%Inland flooding23%Strong wind17%Hail15%Tornadoes10%Cold waves8%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Western faces

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

Drought

23% of expected damage

Recorded about 80 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Western flood?

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

Disasters that hit Western

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into WesternDeclared for Logan County only

Logan County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Western

Western and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Wallacemostly inland floodingModerate

Harrisonmostly inland floodingModerate

Westernmostly droughtLow

Russell Springsmostly droughtLow

McAllastermostly droughtLow

Augustinemostly droughtLow

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