Natural hazards · West Union

West Union, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West Union comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West Union?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Union to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes15%Drought11%Wildfire7%Hail5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What West Union 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

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 39 times a year in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

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

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 West Union flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Custer County.

Disasters that hit West Union

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into West UnionDeclared for Custer County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$75K to the Township of West Union for repairs

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$42K to the Township of West Union for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$5K to the Township of West Union for repairs

Custer County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around West Union

West Union and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

West Unionmostly inland floodingModerate

Lillianmostly inland floodingModerate

Sargentmostly inland floodingModerate

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