Natural hazards · Commerce

Commerce, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Commerce comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 115 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 Commerce?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Commerce to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and tornadoes.

Earthquakes31%Tornadoes20%Inland flooding18%Strong wind7%Cold waves7%Heat waves7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Commerce faces

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

Earthquakes

31% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Commerce flood?

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

115paid claims since 1979

$914Kpaid to owners

8homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 21 claims, $260K
Not a named storm: 18 claims, $88K
Mid-spring storms: 3 claims, $67K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Scott County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

24flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Commerce

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CommerceDeclared for Scott County only

2015

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

9 households applied for aid $61K aid approved $56K to the Village of Commerce for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $23K aid approved $11K to the Village of Commerce for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Tornado

$3K to the Village of Commerce for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$6K to the Village of Commerce for repairs

Scott County has had 25 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. Commerce 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 Commerce’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Commerce. 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.

Commerce, MO natural hazards

How exposed is Commerce?

What Commerce faces

Earthquakes

Tornadoes

Inland flooding

Strong wind

Cold waves

Heat waves

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Commerce flood?

Biggest named events

Homes that flooded again and again

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Tornado

Severe Storms and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

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