Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Vera Cruz
Vera Cruz isn’t graded for hazard risk: Vera Cruz has 62 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 2003.
What Vera Cruz 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
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 Vera Cruz flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 2003
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Vera Cruz, from FEMA’s records.
Vera Cruz is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Wells County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Vera Cruz
Disasters that paid out in Vera Cruz itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Vera Cruz), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$18K to the Town of Vera Cruz for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
Wells County has had 12 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Vera Cruz after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Vera Cruz archive →Get ready for what Vera Cruz 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.
- 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.
- Vera Cruz residents get 15% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Vera Cruz
Does Vera Cruz flood?
Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Vera Cruz since 2003, $77K in all.
Is Vera Cruz 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 Wells County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Vera Cruz?
Vera Cruz is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7), which takes 15% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Vera Cruz?
By FEMA money that reached Vera Cruz, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2003): $18K to the Town of Vera Cruz for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Vera Cruz.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Vera Cruz’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.