Photo: Kswx29 · CC BY 3.0For wildfire, St. Marys Township’s building-damage rate is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, St. Marys Township gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns, #36 of 151 in Kansas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%), then tornadoes (17%). 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 St. Marys 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
Tornadoes
Wildfire
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 St. Marys Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in St. Marys Township, and St. Marys Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 17%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
B #36 of 151 in Kansas; lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of St. Marys Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Kansas town has higher expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, St. Marys Township has less expected damage per building than 77% of Kansas towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across St. Marys Township: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does St. Marys Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in St. Marys Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
St. Marys 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 St. Marys Township remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Pottawatomie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching St. Marys 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.
St. Marys Township and its neighbors
St. Marys Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Marys Township | Bless damage than 61% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Rossville Township | C+more damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Maple Hill Township | Dmore damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Kaw Township | — | 85 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Emmett Township | — | 906 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Belvue Township | — | 245 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 St. Marys 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 St. Marys Township
Is St. Marys Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, St. Marys Township has lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #36 of 151 in Kansas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (60%) and tornadoes (17%). 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for St. Marys Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is St. Marys Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and St. Marys Township’s rate for it is lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in St. Marys Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where St. Marys 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.