Natural hazards · Butterfield

Butterfield, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Butterfield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Butterfield?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Butterfield to be higher than in 71% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes17%Cold waves9%Heat waves6%Strong wind5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Butterfield faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Butterfield flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Barry County.

Disasters that hit Butterfield

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ButterfieldDeclared for Barry County only

2024

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

1 household applied for aid

2009

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $30K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$22K to the City of Butterfield for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$21K to the City of Butterfield for repairs

Barry County has had 24 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. Butterfield 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 Butterfield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Butterfield. 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.