Natural hazards · Fordland

Fordland, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fordland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fordland?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fordland to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding43%Tornadoes15%Heat waves12%Strong wind9%Cold waves6%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Fordland faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 30 years in the area

Heat waves

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Fordland flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Webster County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

8storm safe rooms built

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Fordland

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FordlandDeclared for Webster County only

2025

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

4 households applied for aid

2015

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

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2009

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $982 aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Tornado

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

21 households applied for aid $48K aid approved

2007

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$12K to the City of Fordland for repairs

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

Webster County has had 28 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. Fordland 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 Fordland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Fordland. 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.