Natural hazards · Des Moines

Des Moines, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Des Moines comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Des Moines?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Des Moines to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding45%Cold waves16%Hail13%Tornadoes10%Drought8%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Des Moines faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Des Moines flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

Disasters that hit Des Moines

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Des MoinesDeclared for Jackson County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$24K to the Township of Des Moines for repairs

2018

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

$12K to the Township of Des Moines for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$35K to the Township of Des Moines for repairs

Jackson County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Des Moines

Des Moines and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Huntermostly inland floodingHigh

Jacksonmostly inland floodingModerate

Des Moinesmostly inland floodingModerate

Belmontmostly inland floodingModerate

Middletownmostly inland floodingModerate

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