Natural hazards · Thurston

Thurston, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Thurston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 Thurston?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Thurston to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding22%Hail17%Drought15%Tornadoes14%Wildfire11%Heat waves9%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Thurston faces

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

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

15% of expected damage

Recorded about 40 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Wildfire

11% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Thurston flood?

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

Disasters that hit Thurston

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ThurstonDeclared for Thurston County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Thurston County has had 19 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. Thurston 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 Thurston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Thurston. 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.