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Sublette, KS Co-op grain elevator IMG 5967Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Sublette · FEMA

For hail, Sublette’s building-damage rate is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sublette gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (41%), then hail (22%). 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 63%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade

What stands out about Sublette’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

By hazard

What Sublette 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

41%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Hail

22%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 10 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 2 years in the area

Strong wind

12%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms Earthquakes Wildfire 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 drought at 53% of Sublette’s expected losses. Drought does 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 Sublette’s grade

River and rain flooding is 41% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sublette, and Sublette’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts. Hail adds 22%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Sublette sits
Sublette
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding41%Hail22%Tornadoes18%Everything else18%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.6M a year in losses across Sublette: $377K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sublette’s 1,413 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Haskell township (1,880 residents) and Dudley township (1,435 residents) and Satanta city (1,092 residents) and Lockport township (465 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 town’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 Sublette flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Sublette isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Haskell County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1storm safe room built
Disasters

The storms Sublette remembers

None of the 10 disasters declared for Haskell County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sublette itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SubletteHaskell County only

Haskell County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Haskell County, 2011–2011.

Be ready

Get ready for what Sublette 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 ↗
Hail
  • 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.
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 ↗
High winds
  • Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
  • Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
  • Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
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 Sublette

Is Sublette at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sublette has lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (41%) and hail (22%). 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 Sublette 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 Haskell County, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Sublette?

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

Is Sublette at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (41%), and Sublette’s rate for it is lower than 87% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sublette.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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