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Big Creek BridgeBig Creek Bridge · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Slater · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Slater than in 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Slater gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (65%), then tornadoes (28%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2018.

River and rain flooding 65%Tornadoes 28%Strong wind 3%

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 67%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 67% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
65% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2018 · $3K
Disasters paid out here
7
of 19 declared for Story County
By hazard

What Slater 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

65%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

28%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Hail Ice storms Earthquakes Winter storms Lightning Heat waves top 2% Hurricanes Wildfire Cold waves 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 17% of Slater’s 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 Slater’s grade

River and rain flooding is 65% of the building damage FEMA expects in Slater, and Slater’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 28%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Slater sits
Slater
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Slater’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding65%Tornadoes28%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $597K a year in losses across Slater: $367K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Slater’s 1,543 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Kelley city (304 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Slater flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2018

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Slater, from FEMA’s records: 1.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2018
20182026
1
paid claims since 2018
$3K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$3K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Story County.
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Slater

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

  1. 2024Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$272K to the City of Slater for repairs
  2. 2020Severe Storms49 households applied for aid$33K aid approved
  3. 2011Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$14K to the City of Slater for repairs
  4. 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes37 households applied for aid$55K aid approved$10K to the City of Slater for repairs
  5. 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding4 households applied for aid$34K to the City of Slater for repairs
  6. 2007Severe Winter Storms$2K to the City of Slater for repairs
Show all 7
  1. 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding15 households applied for aid$22K aid approved$2K to the City of Slater for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SlaterStory County only

Story County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Slater archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Slater 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 Slater

Is Slater at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Slater has lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (65%) and tornadoes (28%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Slater flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Slater since 2018, $3K in all, or 1.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 65% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Slater 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 Story County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Slater?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Slater’s 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 Slater?

By FEMA money that reached Slater, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2024): $272K to the City of Slater for repairs.

Is Slater at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (65%), and Slater’s rate for it is lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Slater.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Slater’s 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.