Natural hazards · Defiance

Defiance, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Defiance comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Defiance?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Defiance to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding45%Tornadoes14%Earthquakes13%Hail7%Cold waves6%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Defiance faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Defiance flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Defiance.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Defiance 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. Charles County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Defiance

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DefianceDeclared for St. Charles County only

2022

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid

2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid

2015

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

5 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Tornado

1 household applied for aid

St. Charles County has had 23 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. Defiance 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 Defiance’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Defiance. 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.