Natural hazards · Wheaton

Wheaton, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wheaton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wheaton?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wheaton to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Tornadoes12%Cold waves10%Drought7%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Wheaton faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Wheaton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Barry County.

Disasters that hit Wheaton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WheatonDeclared for Barry County only

2015

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

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

2007

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$14K to the City of Wheaton for repairs

Barry County has had 24 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. Wheaton 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 Wheaton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wheaton. 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.