Natural hazards · Cardwell

Cardwell, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cardwell comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1998. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cardwell?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cardwell to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes52%Inland flooding15%Drought11%Tornadoes6%Heat waves6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Cardwell faces

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

Earthquakes

52% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Cardwell flood?

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

4paid claims since 1998

$34Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

March storm: 1 claim, $2K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dunklin County.

Disasters that hit Cardwell

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CardwellDeclared for Dunklin County only

2025

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

1 household applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$12K to the City of Cardwell for repairs

Dunklin County has had 18 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. Cardwell 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 Cardwell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cardwell. 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.