Natural hazards · Bigelow

Bigelow, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bigelow comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1984. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bigelow?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bigelow to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding45%Tornadoes18%Drought11%Heat waves9%Cold waves7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Bigelow 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

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 18 years in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 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 Bigelow flood?

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

20paid claims since 1984

$657Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19842026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 7 claims, $273K
Late spring storms: 2 claims, $36K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Holt County.

Disasters that hit Bigelow

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BigelowDeclared for Holt County only

2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $976 aid approved

2011

Flooding

2 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $24K aid approved

Holt County has had 21 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. Bigelow 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 Bigelow’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Bigelow. 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.