Natural hazards · Central

Central, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Central 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 Central?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Central to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding39%Drought16%Tornadoes14%Cold waves12%Hail6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Central faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage

Recorded about 32 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Central flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Knox County.

Disasters that hit Central

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into CentralDeclared for Knox County only

Knox County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Central

Central and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Valleymostly inland floodingHigh

Centralmostly inland floodingHigh

Mortonmostly inland floodingHigh

Clevelandmostly inland floodingHigh

Harrisonmostly inland floodingModerate

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