Natural hazards · Matthews

Matthews, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Matthews comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim 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 Matthews?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Matthews to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes62%Heat waves10%Inland flooding9%Tornadoes7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Matthews faces

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

Earthquakes

62% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

9% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Matthews flood?

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

1paid claims since 2011

$17Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $17K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: New Madrid County.

Disasters that hit Matthews

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MatthewsDeclared for New Madrid County only

2024

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

4 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

42 households applied for aid $169K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$33K to the City of Matthews for repairs

New Madrid 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. Matthews 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 Matthews’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Matthews. 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.