Natural hazards · Wood River

Wood River, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wood River comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wood River?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wood River to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding37%Hail31%Drought14%Strong wind8%Tornadoes7%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Wood River faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

31% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 38 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 7 years 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 Wood River flood?

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

2paid claims since 1982

$39Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $39K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hall County.

Disasters that hit Wood River

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Wood River itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Wood River.

Brought FEMA money into Wood RiverDeclared for Hall County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

178 households applied for aid $587K aid approved $196K to the City of Wood River for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storms

$36K to the City of Wood River for repairs

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$17K to the City of Wood River for repairs

Hall 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. Wood River 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 Wood River’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wood River. 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.