Photo: Dan Brown · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Cawker City
Cawker City isn’t graded for hazard risk: Cawker City has 352 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Cawker 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
Hail
Tornadoes
Strong wind
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 Cawker City flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cawker City. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cawker 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: Mitchell County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cawker City
Disasters that paid out in Cawker City itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Cawker City), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding$25K to the City of Cawker City for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$8K to the City of Cawker City for repairs
- 2007Severe Winter Storms$8K to the City of Cawker City for repairs
Mitchell County has had 10 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.
Old photos of Cawker City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cawker City archive →Get ready for what Cawker 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Cawker City
Is Cawker 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 Mitchell County, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Cawker City?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cawker City’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 Cawker City?
By FEMA money that reached Cawker City, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2011): $25K to the City of Cawker City for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cawker City.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cawker 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.