Natural hazards · Kearney

Kearney, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kearney comes from hail, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1983. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kearney?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kearney to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail31%Inland flooding26%Tornadoes19%Strong wind12%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Kearney faces

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

Hail

31% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

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

Strong wind

12% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% 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 Kearney flood?

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

23paid claims since 1983

$6.8Mpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $23K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Buffalo County.

Disasters that hit Kearney

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KearneyDeclared for Buffalo County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

267 households applied for aid $423K aid approved $875K to the City of Kearney for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

475 households applied for aid $199K aid approved $325K to the City of Kearney for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storms

$406K to the City of Kearney for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$11K to the City of Kearney for repairs

Buffalo County has had 17 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. Kearney covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kearney’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kearney. 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 Kearney total about $5.7M 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.