Natural hazards · Merriam Woods

Merriam Woods, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Merriam Woods comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2015. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Merriam Woods?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Merriam Woods to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding73%Cold waves7%Heat waves6%Tornadoes5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Merriam Woods faces

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

Inland flooding

73% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Merriam Woods flood?

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

8paid claims since 2015

$192Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20152026

Biggest named events

Late spring severe storms: 5 claims, $116K
Early winter storms: 2 claims, $28K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Taney County.

Disasters that hit Merriam Woods

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Merriam WoodsDeclared for Taney County only

2015

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

1 household applied for aid

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Taney County has had 17 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. Merriam Woods covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Merriam Woods’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Merriam Woods. 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 Merriam Woods total about $2.5M 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.