Photo: Acntx at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Iola
Iola isn’t graded for hazard risk: Iola has 372 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Iola faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
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 Iola flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Iola. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Iola isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grimes County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Iola
Disasters that paid out in Iola itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Iola), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Winter Storms37 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Harvey17 households applied for aid$25K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding15 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2008Hurricane Ike39 households applied for aid$73K aid approved
Grimes County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Grimes County, 2011–2011.
Old photos of Iola after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Iola archive →Get ready for what Iola faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
- 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 Iola
Is Iola 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 Grimes County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Iola?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Iola’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 Iola?
By FEMA money that reached Iola, Hurricane Ike (2008): 39 households applied for aid, $73K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Iola.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Iola’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.