FEMA puts Freeborn Township’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Freeborn Township gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (59%), then river and rain flooding (23%). 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 Freeborn Township faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Ice storms
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 Freeborn Township’s grade
Earthquakes are 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Freeborn Township, and Freeborn Township’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 9%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Freeborn Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Freeborn Township: $611K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Freeborn Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Freeborn Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Freeborn 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: Dunklin County.The storms Freeborn Township remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Dunklin County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Freeborn Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Dunklin 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.
Freeborn Township and its neighbors
Freeborn Township is 3rd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | Dmore damage than 87% | earthquakes | 7 |
| Holcomb Township | Dmore damage than 88% | earthquakes | 3 |
| Freeborn Township | Dmore damage than 88% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Independence Township | Dmore damage than 89% | earthquakes | 11 |
| Cotton Hill Township | Dmore damage than 91% | earthquakes | 2 |
| Clarkton | — | 958 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 Freeborn 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Freeborn Township
Is Freeborn Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Freeborn Township has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (59%) and river and rain flooding (23%). 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 Freeborn 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 Dunklin County, 1.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Freeborn Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Freeborn Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Freeborn Township at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Freeborn Township’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Freeborn Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Freeborn 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.