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Natural hazards · Athens

Athens, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Athens comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2017. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Athens?

63
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Athens to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding35%Heat waves17%Drought16%Tornadoes14%Cold waves9%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Athens faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Heat waves

17% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage
Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Athens flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Athens, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 2017
$36Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20172026
Disasters that hit Athens

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AthensDeclared for Gentry County only
2023

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

$125K to the Township of Athens for repairs
2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$167K to the Township of Athens for repairs
2015

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

$61K to the Township of Athens for repairs
2014

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

$32K to the Township of Athens for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$12K to the Township of Athens for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Township of Athens for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$8K to the Township of Athens for repairs
Gentry County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Athens

Athens and the towns around it

Cooper: High, mostly inland floodingHuggins: High, mostly inland floodingMiller: High, mostly inland floodingHoward: High, mostly inland floodingWhite Oak: Moderate, mostly inland floodingButler: Moderate, mostly inland floodingJackson: High, mostly inland floodingWilson: High, mostly inland floodingWashington: High, mostly inland floodingJefferson: High, mostly inland floodingBogle: High, mostly inland floodingBenton: High, mostly inland floodingGrant: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDallas: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMcFall: High, mostly inland floodingDallas: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBethany: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCypress: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAthens: High, mostly inland flooding AthensCooperHugginsMillerHowardWhite OakButler
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Athensmostly inland floodingHigh
Millermostly inland floodingHigh
Howardmostly inland floodingHigh
Coopermostly inland floodingHigh
Hugginsmostly inland floodingHigh
White Oakmostly inland floodingModerate
Butlermostly 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. Athens covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Athens’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Athens. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Athens total about $3.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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