Natural hazards · Atkinson

Atkinson, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Atkinson comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Atkinson?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Atkinson to be higher than in 17% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves30%Inland flooding20%Tornadoes14%Drought10%Lightning8%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Atkinson faces

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

Cold waves

30% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 10% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Drought

10% of expected damage

Recorded about 26 times a year in the area

Lightning

8% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong wind

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 Atkinson flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Holt County.

Disasters that hit Atkinson

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AtkinsonDeclared for Holt County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $42K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$12K to the City of Atkinson for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Winter Storm

$1K to the City of Atkinson for repairs

2003

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$1K to the City of Atkinson for repairs

Holt County has had 14 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. Atkinson 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 Atkinson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Atkinson. 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.