Natural hazards · Bell

Bell, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bell comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bell?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bell to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes42%Inland flooding12%Tornadoes11%Cold waves11%Heat waves8%Strong wind8%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Bell faces

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

Earthquakes

42% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

12% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 6% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bell flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Stoddard County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Bell

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BellDeclared for Stoddard County only

2024

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

2 households applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

20 households applied for aid $83K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the City of Bell for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Tornado

$4K to the City of Bell for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

20 households applied for aid $36K aid approved

Stoddard County has had 22 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. Bell 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 Bell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bell. 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.