Natural hazards · Whitewater

Whitewater, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Whitewater comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Whitewater?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Whitewater to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding40%Earthquakes21%Cold waves9%Heat waves9%Tornadoes7%Drought6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Whitewater 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 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Whitewater flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cape Girardeau County.

Disasters that hit Whitewater

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WhitewaterDeclared for Cape Girardeau County only

2015

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

1 household applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

21 households applied for aid $32K aid approved

Cape Girardeau 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. Whitewater 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 Whitewater’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Whitewater. 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.