Buchanan, IA
Buchanan County in Iowa has 12 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1965–2019, most recently Severe Storms and Flooding on Mar 23, 2019 (DR-4421). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #698 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 6 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $19,100 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Buchanan County
The 12 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Buchanan County, IA (1965–2019). Total declarations on record: 12.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2019 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4421 |
| Oct 31, 2016 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4289 |
| Jul 24, 2014 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | DR-4184 |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3239 |
| Jun 19, 2002 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-1420 |
| Jul 2, 1998 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding | DR-1230 |
| Jul 9, 1993 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-996 |
| Apr 26, 1993 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-986 |
| Sep 6, 1990 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-879 |
| Aug 14, 1969 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding | DR-269 |
| Aug 4, 1968 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding | DR-248 |
| Apr 22, 1965 | Flood | Flooding | DR-193 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 14 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Iowa
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | A | 14 | 25 | 14 |
| Butler | A | 14 | 9 | 12 |
| Louisa | A | 14 | 1 | 12 |
| Pottawattamie | A | 14 | 20 | 8 |
| Linn | A | 14 | 29 | 12 |
| Allamakee | A | 15 | 0 | 13 |
More Counties in Iowa
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Buchanan County, IA have?
Buchanan County, IA has 12 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1965–2019). The 5 most recent are: Severe Storms and Flooding (declared Mar 23, 2019, DR-4421); Severe Storms and Flooding (declared Oct 31, 2016, DR-4289); Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding (declared Jul 24, 2014, DR-4184); Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (declared Sep 10, 2005, DR-3239); Severe Storms and Flooding (declared Jun 19, 2002, DR-1420). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Buchanan County, IA?
Buchanan County is graded A (composite score 14/100, low risk). It ranks #698 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Buchanan County?
6 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Buchanan County, IA, totaling $19,100 in payouts. The average claim is $3,183. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Buchanan County, IA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Buchanan County was Severe Storms and Flooding on Mar 23, 2019 (DR-4421). The county has 12 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1965–2019.
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.