Natural hazards · Gainesville

Gainesville, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gainesville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2011. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gainesville?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gainesville to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding43%Heat waves18%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes7%Strong wind6%Cold waves6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Gainesville 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

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Heat waves

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

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

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Gainesville flood?

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

7paid claims since 2011

$710Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Late spring severe storms: 6 claims, $650K
Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $60K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ozark County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Gainesville

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GainesvilleDeclared for Ozark County only

2017

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

26 households applied for aid $16K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$14K to the City of Gainesville for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the City of Gainesville for repairs

Ozark County has had 22 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. Gainesville 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 Gainesville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gainesville. 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.