Natural hazards · Chadron

Chadron, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chadron comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low 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 Chadron?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chadron to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves23%Inland flooding23%Tornadoes13%Hail12%Wildfire8%Lightning7%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Chadron faces

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

Cold waves

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 2% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Hail

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Wildfire

8% of expected damage

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

Lightning

7% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

Ice stormsHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

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 Chadron flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dawes County.

Disasters that hit Chadron

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChadronDeclared for Dawes County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$27K to the City of Chadron for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Winter Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$176K to the City of Chadron for repairs

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$59K to the City of Chadron for repairs

Dawes County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and fires.

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