Blue Township’s building-damage rate from wildfire is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Blue Township gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns, #87 of 151 in Kansas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%), then wildfire (15%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Blue Township 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
Wildfire
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.
What’s behind Blue Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Blue Township, and Blue Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 15%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #87 of 151 in Kansas; higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Blue Township’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Kansas town has higher expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Blue Township has more expected damage per building than 57% of Kansas towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.8M a year in losses across Blue Township: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Blue Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Blue Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Blue Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pottawatomie County.The storms Blue Township remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Pottawatomie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Blue Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Pottawatomie County has had 16 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.
Blue Township and its neighbors
Blue Township is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan Township | B−more damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Manhattan | C+more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 225 |
| St. George Township | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Blue Township | C+more damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Grant Township | — | 779 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Zeandale Township | — | 172 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Pottawatomie Township | — | 714 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Green Township | — | 211 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.
Get ready for what Blue Township 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Blue Township
Is Blue Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Blue Township has higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #87 of 151 in Kansas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%) and wildfire (15%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Blue Township 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 Pottawatomie County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Blue Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Blue Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Blue Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Blue Township’s rate for it is higher than 59% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Blue Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Blue Township’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.