Natural hazards · Fairfax

Fairfax, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairfax comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 Fairfax?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fairfax to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding37%Drought23%Tornadoes14%Heat waves9%Cold waves8%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Fairfax faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

23% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% 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 Fairfax flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Atchison County.

Disasters that hit Fairfax

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairfaxDeclared for Atchison County only

2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $24K aid approved

2011

Flooding

31 households applied for aid $112K aid approved

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$9K to the City of Fairfax for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $13K to the City of Fairfax for repairs

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