Natural hazards · Kearney

Kearney, MO natural hazards

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

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kearney to be higher than in 50% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves19%Tornadoes17%Heat waves9%Hail6%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Kearney faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Kearney flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clay County.

Disasters that hit Kearney

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KearneyDeclared for Clay County only

2015

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

$28K to the City of Kearney for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2002

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$5K to the City of Kearney for repairs

Clay County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Kearney

Kearney and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Kearneymostly inland floodingModerate

Mosbymostly inland floodingModerate

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. Kearney covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kearney’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kearney. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Kearney total about $5.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.