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BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Sarcoxie Township · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Sarcoxie Township faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sarcoxie Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%), then tornadoes (18%). 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

less than 60%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Sarcoxie 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

74%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 8 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Hail Wildfire Ice storms Earthquakes Winter storms Lightning Cold waves Heat 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 heat waves at 8% of Sarcoxie Township’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Sarcoxie Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sarcoxie Township, and Sarcoxie Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 18%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sarcoxie Township sits
Sarcoxie Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding74%Tornadoes18%Strong wind3%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $513K a year in losses across Sarcoxie Township: $280K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sarcoxie Township’s 986 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Oskaloosa township (2,167 residents) and Union township (1,690 residents) and Oskaloosa city (1,110 residents) and McLouth city (859 residents) and Rural township (776 residents) and Williamstown CDP (96 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the township’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 Sarcoxie Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sarcoxie Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Sarcoxie 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: Jefferson County.
Disasters

The storms Sarcoxie Township remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Jefferson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sarcoxie Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Sarcoxie TownshipJefferson County only

Jefferson County has had 15 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.

Next door

Sarcoxie Township and its neighbors

Sarcoxie Township is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Union TownshipBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding—
Sarcoxie TownshipBless damage than 60%river and rain flooding0
Reno TownshipB−less damage than 50%river and rain flooding—
Tonganoxie Township—not graded yet
Rural Township—486 residents; we grade 1,000+
Grant Township—321 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Sarcoxie 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.

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 ↗
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 Sarcoxie Township

Is Sarcoxie Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sarcoxie Township has lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and tornadoes (18%). 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.

Is Sarcoxie 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 Jefferson County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Sarcoxie Township?

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

Is Sarcoxie Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Sarcoxie Township’s rate for it is higher than 52% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sarcoxie Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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