Natural hazards · Sparta

Sparta, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sparta comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sparta?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sparta to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding29%Tornadoes17%Cold waves14%Drought12%Hail10%Wildfire8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Sparta faces

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

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 26 times a year in the area

Hail

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Wildfire

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Sparta flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Knox County.

Disasters that hit Sparta

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SpartaDeclared for Knox County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$55K to the Township of Sparta for repairs

Knox County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Sparta

Sparta and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bohemiamostly inland floodingHigh

Raymondmostly inland floodingHigh

Verdigremostly inland floodingHigh

Spartamostly inland floodingModerate

Niobraramostly inland floodingModerate

Spademostly inland floodingModerate

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