Des Moines, IA
Des Moines County in Iowa has 14 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1965–2023, most recently Flooding on Aug 25, 2023 (DR-4732). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #642 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 25 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $264,785 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Des Moines County
The 14 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Des Moines County, IA (1965–2023). Total declarations on record: 14.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2023 | Flood | Flooding | DR-4732 |
| Mar 23, 2019 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4421 |
| Oct 31, 2016 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4289 |
| May 31, 2013 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | DR-4119 |
| 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 |
| May 26, 1990 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-868 |
| Jun 24, 1974 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-443 |
| May 23, 1973 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-386 |
| Apr 25, 1969 | Flood | Flooding | DR-259 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan | A | 14 | 6 | 12 |
| 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 Des Moines County, IA have?
Des Moines County, IA has 14 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1965–2023). The 5 most recent are: Flooding (declared Aug 25, 2023, DR-4732); Severe Storms and Flooding (declared Mar 23, 2019, DR-4421); Severe Storms and Flooding (declared Oct 31, 2016, DR-4289); Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding (declared May 31, 2013, DR-4119); Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (declared Sep 10, 2005, DR-3239). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Des Moines County, IA?
Des Moines County is graded A (composite score 14/100, low risk). It ranks #642 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 Des Moines County?
25 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Des Moines County, IA, totaling $264,785 in payouts. The average claim is $10,591. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Des Moines County, IA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Des Moines County was Flooding on Aug 25, 2023 (DR-4732). The county has 14 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1965–2023.
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations dataset. The detail above comes directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
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.