Natural hazards · Kelso

Kelso, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kelso comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kelso?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kelso to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding28%Earthquakes26%Tornadoes20%Heat waves7%Cold waves7%Strong wind6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Kelso faces

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

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 39 years in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Kelso flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Scott County.

Disasters that hit Kelso

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KelsoDeclared for Scott County only

2025

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

1 household applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Scott County has had 25 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. Kelso 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 Kelso’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Kelso. 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.