Natural hazards · Spencer

Spencer, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Spencer comes from inland flooding, 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 Spencer?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Spencer to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding34%Drought25%Cold waves22%Hail6%Tornadoes5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Spencer faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

25% of expected damage

Recorded about 37 times a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Spencer flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Boyd County.

Disasters that hit Spencer

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SpencerDeclared for Boyd County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

101 households applied for aid $64K aid approved

2011

Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Boyd County has had 15 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. Spencer 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 Spencer’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Spencer. 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.