Natural hazards · Cool Valley

Cool Valley, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cool Valley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cool Valley?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cool Valley to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding39%Heat waves32%Earthquakes15%Cold waves5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Cool Valley faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

32% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cool Valley flood?

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

11paid claims since 1979

$198Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ike: 2 claims, $52K
Not a named storm: 2 claims, $74K

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. Cool Valley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: St. Louis County.

Disasters that hit Cool Valley

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Cool ValleyDeclared for St. Louis County only

2022

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $36K aid approved

St. Louis County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Cool Valley

Cool Valley and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Cool Valleymostly inland floodingHigh

Fergusonmostly heat wavesHigh

Bellerive Acresmostly earthquakesModerate

Normandymostly earthquakesModerate

Berkeleymostly heat wavesModerate

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. Cool Valley 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 Cool Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cool Valley. 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.