Natural hazards · Ashland

Ashland, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ashland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 57 claims here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ashland?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ashland to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding59%Tornadoes18%Hail8%Strong wind7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Ashland faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 70 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ashland flood?

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

57paid claims since 1982

$789Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 13 claims, $453K
Midwest Flooding: 7 claims, $46K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Saunders County.

Disasters that hit Ashland

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AshlandDeclared for Saunders County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

93 households applied for aid $377K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Saunders County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Ashland

Ashland and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ashlandmostly inland floodingVery high

Clear Creekmostly 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. Ashland covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ashland’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Ashland. 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 Ashland total about $2.0M 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.