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Downtown Baldwin City Kansas by Ian BallingerPhoto: Ian Ballinger · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Baldwin City · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Baldwin City than in 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baldwin City gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, #19 of 151 in Kansas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%), then tornadoes (16%). Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2013.

River and rain flooding 66%Tornadoes 16%Hail 10%

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 70%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#19 of 151 in Kansas
Hazard risk
B+#19 of 151
in Kansas · lower than 70% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
66% of expected building damage
Flood claims
6
paid since 2013 · $75K
Flooded more than once
3
properties
Flood claims per home
4 per 1,000
more than 53% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Baldwin City’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 70% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Made safer with FEMA grants4 storm safe rooms built with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Baldwin City 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

66%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Hail

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Winter storms top 4% Earthquakes Wildfire Ice storms Lightning Heat waves top 3% Cold waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts tornadoes at 25% of Baldwin City’s expected losses. Tornadoes do little damage to buildings (15.5%), 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 Baldwin City’s grade

River and rain flooding is 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Baldwin City, and Baldwin City’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 1%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Baldwin City sits
Baldwin City
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #19 of 151 in Kansas; lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding66%Tornadoes16%Hail10%Everything else8%

The typical Kansas town has higher expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Baldwin City has less expected damage per building than 88% of Kansas towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Baldwin City: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Baldwin City’s 4,826 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Baldwin City flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 2013

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Baldwin City, from FEMA’s records: 3.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2013: 2 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 2 claims2017: 2 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims201320162017
20132026
6
paid claims since 2013
$75K
paid to owners
3
homes flooded more than once
$12K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Douglas County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
4storm safe rooms built
Disasters

The storms Baldwin City remembers

None of the 18 disasters declared for Douglas County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Baldwin City itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20132 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20162 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 20172 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Baldwin CityDouglas County only

Douglas County has had 18 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 Baldwin City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Baldwin City archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Baldwin City 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 ↗
Hail
  • 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.
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 Baldwin City

Is Baldwin City at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Baldwin City has lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #19 of 151 in Kansas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%) and tornadoes (16%). 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 Baldwin City flood?

Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Baldwin City since 2013, $75K in all, or 3.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Baldwin City 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 Douglas County, 37% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Baldwin City?

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

Is Baldwin City at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Baldwin City’s rate for it is lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Baldwin City.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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