Natural hazards · Avondale

Avondale, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Avondale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 49 claims here since 1979. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Avondale?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Avondale to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding33%Cold waves28%Tornadoes19%Heat waves13%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Avondale faces

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

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

28% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Avondale flood?

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

49paid claims since 1979

$393Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 14 claims, $112K
Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $36K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clay County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Avondale

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AvondaleDeclared for Clay County only

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

2002

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$2K to the City of Avondale for repairs

Clay County has had 23 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. Avondale 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 Avondale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Avondale. 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.