Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elk Run Heights

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Elk Run Heights, IA city hallPhoto: RifeIdeas · CC BY-SA 3.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Elk Run Heights · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Elk Run Heights faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Elk Run Heights gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%), then tornadoes (18%). Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1993.

River and rain flooding 75%Tornadoes 18%Hail 2%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

less than 51%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in Iowa · lower than 51% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
75% of expected building damage
Flood claims
5
paid since 1993 · $49K
Disasters paid out here
2
of 17 declared for Black Hawk County
By hazard

What Elk Run Heights faces

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

River and rain flooding

75%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Strong wind Earthquakes Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Wildfire Hurricanes Cold waves Heat waves top 4% Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts drought at 18% of Elk Run Heights’ expected losses. Drought does little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Elk Run Heights’ grade

River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Elk Run Heights, and Elk Run Heights’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 18%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Elk Run Heights sits
Elk Run Heights
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Elk Run Heights’ residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding75%Tornadoes18%Everything else6%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $443K a year in losses across Elk Run Heights: $268K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Elk Run Heights covers 3 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Elk Run Heights flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1993

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Elk Run Heights, from FEMA’s records: 10.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 75% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1993: 2 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 2 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 1 claim2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199319992010
19932026
Biggest named events
  • The Midwest Flooding2 claims · $24K
5
paid claims since 1993
$49K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$10K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Elk Run Heights isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Black Hawk County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Elk Run Heights

Disasters that paid out in Elk Run Heights itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Elk Run Heights), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes43 households applied for aid$112K aid approved$60K to the City of Elk Run Heights for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  2. 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding84 households applied for aid$189K aid approved$12K to the City of Elk Run Heights for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Elk Run HeightsBlack Hawk County only

Black Hawk County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Elk Run Heights after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Elk Run Heights archive →
Next door

Elk Run Heights and its neighbors

Elk Run Heights has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Evansdale: hazard risk C+Raymond: not gradedEvansdaleRaymondElk Run Heights
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Elk Run HeightsB−less damage than 51%river and rain flooding5
EvansdaleC+more damage than 63%river and rain flooding21
Raymond—899 residents; we grade 1,000+

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Elk Run Heights faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Elk Run Heights

Is Elk Run Heights at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Elk Run Heights has lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and tornadoes (18%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Elk Run Heights flood?

Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Elk Run Heights since 1993, $49K in all, or 10.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 75% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Midwest Flooding (2).

Is Elk Run Heights in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Black Hawk County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Elk Run Heights?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Elk Run Heights’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Elk Run Heights?

By FEMA money that reached Elk Run Heights, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2008): 84 households applied for aid, $189K approved, and $12K to the City of Elk Run Heights for repairs. By flood claims, Midwest Flooding: 2 paid, $24K.

Is Elk Run Heights at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Elk Run Heights’ rate for it is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Elk Run Heights.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Elk Run Heights’ residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.