Natural hazards · Blackwater

Blackwater, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Blackwater comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Blackwater?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Blackwater to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Tornadoes12%Cold waves9%Drought9%Heat waves8%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Blackwater faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Blackwater flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cooper County.

Disasters that hit Blackwater

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BlackwaterDeclared for Cooper County only

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $854 aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Cooper County has had 20 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. Blackwater 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 Blackwater’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Blackwater. 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.