Natural hazards · Pierce

Pierce, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pierce comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2019. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pierce?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pierce to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes16%Hail10%Drought8%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Pierce faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Hail

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 37 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Pierce flood?

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

1paid claims since 2019

$8Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20192026

Biggest named events

March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $8K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pierce County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Pierce

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PierceDeclared for Pierce County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

86 households applied for aid $302K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$8K to the City of Pierce for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storms

$13K to the City of Pierce for repairs

Pierce County has had 14 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. Pierce 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 Pierce’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Pierce. 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.