Natural hazards · Rockaway Beach

Rockaway Beach, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rockaway Beach comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 2008. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rockaway Beach?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach flood?

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

23paid claims since 2008

$197Kpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

20082026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 4 claims, $37K
Early winter storms: 4 claims, $103K
March storm: 3 claims, $24K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Rockaway BeachDeclared for Taney County only

2017

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $251 aid approved

2015

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

21 households applied for aid $16K aid approved $91K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

$9K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

18 households applied for aid $23K aid approved $32K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$939 to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Flooding, and a Tornado

7 households applied for aid $16K aid approved $1K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $2K aid approved $28K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

37 households applied for aid $19K aid approved

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. Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rockaway Beach. 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.