Natural hazards · Odessa

Odessa, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Odessa comes from hail, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Odessa?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Odessa to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and strong winds.

Hail42%Strong wind20%Inland flooding18%Drought8%Tornadoes6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Odessa faces

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

Hail

42% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Strong wind

20% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 45 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years 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 Odessa flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Odessa 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 Odessa

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OdessaDeclared for Buffalo County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $13K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid

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

Odessa, NE natural hazards

How exposed is Odessa?

What Odessa faces

Hail

Strong wind

Inland flooding

Drought

Tornadoes

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Odessa flood?

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

Nearby