Natural hazards · Elmo

Elmo, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elmo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elmo?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elmo to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding56%Tornadoes17%Drought9%Cold waves7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Elmo faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Elmo flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Nodaway County.

Disasters that hit Elmo

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElmoDeclared for Nodaway County only

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Nodaway County has had 19 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. Elmo 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 Elmo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Elmo. 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.