Polk, IA
Polk County in Iowa has 9 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 #1096 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 37 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $1,944,812 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Polk County
The 9 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Polk County, IA (1965–2019). Total declarations on record: 9.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2019 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4421 |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3239 |
| Jul 2, 1998 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding | DR-1230 |
| Jul 9, 1993 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-996 |
| May 26, 1990 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-868 |
| Jun 24, 1974 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-443 |
| Aug 14, 1969 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding | DR-269 |
| Apr 25, 1969 | Flood | Flooding | DR-259 |
| Apr 22, 1965 | Flood | Flooding | DR-193 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 12 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Iowa
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | A | 12 | 2 | 9 |
| Audubon | A | 12 | 0 | 8 |
| Buena Vista | A | 12 | 0 | 8 |
| Carroll | A | 12 | 0 | 8 |
| Cass | A | 12 | 0 | 8 |
| Clay | A | 12 | 12 | 8 |
More Counties in Iowa
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Polk County, IA have?
Polk County, IA has 9 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1965–2019). The 5 most recent are: Severe Storms and Flooding (declared Mar 23, 2019, DR-4421); Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (declared Sep 10, 2005, DR-3239); Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding (declared Jul 2, 1998, DR-1230); Severe Storms & Flooding (declared Jul 9, 1993, DR-996); Severe Storms & Flooding (declared May 26, 1990, DR-868). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Polk County, IA?
Polk County is graded A (composite score 12/100, low risk). It ranks #1096 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 Polk County?
37 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Polk County, IA, totaling $1,944,812 in payouts. The average claim is $52,562. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Polk County, IA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Polk County was Severe Storms and Flooding on Mar 23, 2019 (DR-4421). The county has 9 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.