Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in What Cheer
What Cheer isn’t graded for hazard risk: What Cheer has 580 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1990.
What What Cheer 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
Tornadoes
Strong wind
Hail
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.
Does What Cheer flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1990
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in What Cheer, from FEMA’s records.
What Cheer isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Keokuk County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to What Cheer
Disasters that paid out in What Cheer itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of What Cheer), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2007Severe Winter Storm$3K to the City of What Cheer for repairs
- 2007Severe Winter Storms$16K to the City of What Cheer for repairs
Keokuk County has had 16 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.
Old photos of What Cheer after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the What Cheer archive →Get ready for what What Cheer faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in What Cheer
Does What Cheer flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in What Cheer since 1990, $17K in all.
Is What Cheer 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 Keokuk County, 0% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in What Cheer?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for What Cheer’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 What Cheer?
By FEMA money that reached What Cheer, Severe Winter Storms (2007): $16K to the City of What Cheer for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in What Cheer.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where What Cheer’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.