Photo: Amraider1997 · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Grenola
Grenola isn’t graded for hazard risk: Grenola has 142 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Grenola 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.
Does Grenola flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Grenola. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Grenola isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Elk County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Grenola
Disasters that paid out in Grenola itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Grenola), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides$16K to the City of Grenola for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$3K to the City of Grenola for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$2K to the City of Grenola for repairs
- 2002Severe Winter Ice Storm$10K to the City of Grenola for repairs
Elk County has had 17 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 Grenola after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Grenola archive →Get ready for what Grenola 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 Grenola
Is Grenola 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 Elk County, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Grenola?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Grenola’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 Grenola?
By FEMA money that reached Grenola, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides (2019): $16K to the City of Grenola for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Grenola.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Grenola’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.