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Natural hazards · Canton

Canton, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Canton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Canton?

63
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Canton to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding42%Heat waves25%Strong wind8%Tornadoes7%Cold waves7%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Canton faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

25% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 32 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 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 Canton flood?

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

26paid claims since 1979
$317Kpaid to owners
3homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Late spring storms: 13 claims, $183K
  • Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $73K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Canton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lewis County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Canton

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CantonDeclared for Lewis County only
2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved $229K to the City of Canton for repairs
2013

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

$34K to the City of Canton for repairs
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

43 households applied for aid $62K aid approved $879K to the City of Canton for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

166 households applied for aid $378K aid approved $227K to the City of Canton for repairs
Lewis County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Canton

Canton and the towns around it

Lima: Moderate, mostly inland floodingUrsa: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMendon: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRocky Run-Wilcox: Moderate, mostly inland floodingKeene: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWalker: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSt. Albans: Moderate, mostly cold wavesLa Grange: High, mostly inland floodingRiverside: High, mostly inland floodingCanton: High, mostly inland flooding CantonLimaUrsa
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Cantonmostly inland floodingHigh
Limamostly inland floodingModerate
Ursamostly inland floodingModerate
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. Canton 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 Canton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Canton. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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