Natural hazards · Steele

Steele, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Steele comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1984. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Steele?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Steele to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding32%Hail30%Strong wind12%Tornadoes11%Drought7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Steele faces

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

30% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Strong wind

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 25 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 Steele flood?

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

4paid claims since 1984

$6Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19842026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Steele

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SteeleDeclared for Jefferson County only

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$3K to the Village of Steele for repairs

Jefferson County has had 23 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. Steele 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 Steele’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Steele. 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.