Natural hazards · Madison

Madison, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Madison comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1990. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Madison?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Madison to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding49%Tornadoes15%Hail13%Drought9%Strong wind6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Madison faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 45 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Madison flood?

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

15paid claims since 1990

$99Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19902026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 2 claims, $5K
March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $8K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Madison County.

Disasters that hit Madison

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MadisonDeclared for Madison County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Madison County has had 16 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. Madison 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 Madison’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Madison. 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.