Van Buren County, Iowa

What hazards hit Van Buren County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 127 since 1996. 61% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Iowa's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Van Buren County had?

NOAA records 27 tornadoes in Van Buren County from 1959 to 2025, the strongest rated EF3, with 2 deaths and 17 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 28 tornadoes whose track touched Van Buren County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 27: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Iowa.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Van Buren County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the October 24, 2024 lightning ($9.4 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Broadcast media reported that a historic church north of Keosauqua Iowa was struck by lightning that resulted in a fire and the total loss of the building. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1222078)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Van Buren County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

61% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Van Buren County

FEMA's register lists 16 declarations that include Van Buren County: 14 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (6) and flood (6).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Van Buren County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 40 flood or flash flood records for Van Buren County from 1996 to 2021, on 36 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Van Buren County ranks 1637th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $546,000 on 53 claims filed in Van Buren County; the most in one year was 26 in 2008. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Van Buren County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Van Buren County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.4 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Van Buren County

1. Wapello County 770
2. Lee County 722
3. Van Buren County 515
4. Clark County, MO 509
5. Henry County 502
6. Jefferson County 450
7. Scotland County, MO 418
8. Davis County 416

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in IowaEvery Iowa tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in IowaThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Iowa recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Van Buren CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Van Buren County's FEMA declarations (CSV)16 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis