Natural hazards · Cooper

Cooper, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cooper comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2021. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cooper?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cooper to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding32%Heat waves19%Drought16%Tornadoes16%Cold waves9%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Cooper faces

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Heat waves

19% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cooper flood?

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

1paid claims since 2021

$98Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20212026

Disasters that hit Cooper

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CooperDeclared for Gentry County only

2015

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

$70K to the Township of Cooper for repairs

2014

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

$24K to the Township of Cooper for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$10K to the Township of Cooper for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the Township of Cooper for repairs

Gentry County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Cooper

Cooper and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Washingtonmostly inland floodingHigh

Jeffersonmostly inland floodingHigh

Athensmostly inland floodingHigh

Millermostly inland floodingHigh

Coopermostly inland floodingHigh

Hugginsmostly inland floodingHigh

Jacksonmostly inland floodingHigh

Wilsonmostly inland floodingHigh

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. Cooper covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cooper’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Cooper. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Cooper total about $3.9M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.