Natural hazards · South West

South West, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in South West comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is South West?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in South West to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding40%Drought24%Tornadoes12%Cold waves9%Strong wind5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What South West faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

24% of expected damage

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 South West flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Barton County.

Disasters that hit South West

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Barton County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching South West itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into South WestDeclared for Barton County only

Barton County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around South West

South West and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

South Westmostly inland floodingHigh

Ozarkmostly inland floodingHigh

Nashvillemostly inland floodingHigh

Mindenminesmostly inland floodingHigh

Bakermostly inland floodingHigh

Washingtonmostly inland floodingHigh

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. South West 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 South West’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of South West. 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.