Natural hazards · Canalou

Canalou, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Canalou comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2011. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Canalou?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Canalou to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes60%Inland flooding10%Heat waves8%Drought7%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Canalou faces

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

Earthquakes

60% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Canalou flood?

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

8paid claims since 2011

$104Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 7 claims, $75K
Central U.S. April Flooding: 1 claim, $29K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: New Madrid County.

Disasters that hit Canalou

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CanalouDeclared for New Madrid County only

2024

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

2 households applied for aid $629 aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

89 households applied for aid $178K aid approved $8K to the City of Canalou for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$24K to the City of Canalou for repairs

New Madrid 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. Canalou 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 Canalou’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Canalou. 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.