Unincorporated, IA (50520) Drought & Climate Risk Profile

The primary drivers of climate-related financial risk in Unincorporated, IA (50520) are Drought, Inland Flooding, and Cold Wave. This area also faces an unusually high intensity for Hail, Strong Wind, and Winter Weather compared to national averages.

Understanding the Dollars

Expected Annual Loss (EAL) is a statistical average of property damage for this entire zip code over a standard year across all properties.

/ It represents the "average cost" rather than a guaranteed yearly bill.
/ It can be used to compare the relative risk from different hazards and across different neighborhoods.

Zip Code Risk Map

Flood Plain Analysis

Localized Flood Dynamics in 50520

FEMA Flood Maps for 50520 identify the "100-year" and "500-year" floodplains (1% and 0.2% annual chance), but modern climate risk analysis suggests that nearly 25% of flood insurance claims originate from properties outside of these designated high-risk zones.

Use the map above to better understand risk by looking at both the FEMA flood plain maps and FEMA Risk Inventory maps by census tract. Standard FEMA maps may not account for 'flash flooding' from intense rain events.

FEMA Designation vs. Reality

Relatively Low

Relative Vulnerability

$170,702

Annualized Property Exposure

Primary Risks

Drought

$470,642

Expected Annual Loss for Zip Code 50520

99.6Score

Relatively High compared to US average

Inland Flooding

$170,702

Expected Annual Loss for Zip Code 50520

41.5Score

Relatively Low compared to US average

Cold Wave

$116,414

Expected Annual Loss for Zip Code 50520

91.4Score

Relatively High compared to US average

Financial Risk Inventory

MAJOR DRIVER

Drought

$470,642

Score: 99.6

MAJOR DRIVER

Inland Flooding

$170,702

Score: 41.5

MAJOR DRIVER

Cold Wave

$116,414

Score: 91.4

Tornado

$80,336

Score: 78.6

UNUSUALLY HIGH

Hail

$45,250

Score: 93.3

UNUSUALLY HIGH

Strong Wind

$29,389

Score: 88.7

UNUSUALLY HIGH

Winter Weather

$5,965

Score: 91.0

Lightning

$3,012

Score: 42.0

Ice Storm

$2,673

Score: 63.1

Heat Wave

$1,165

Score: 4.3

Earthquake

$604

Score: 9.0

Hurricane

$198

Score: 30.4

Wildfire

$103

Score: 53.3

Landslide

$14

Score: 74.6

Recommended Mitigation Strategies

Recommended investments to protect your property value and reduce insurance liability based on your local risk profile.

🏠Low Investment

Drought Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 99.6

💧Medium Investment

Inland Flooding Mitigation

Install a smart sump pump with battery backup and extend downspouts 10ft from foundation.

Risk Score: 41.5

🏠Low Investment

Cold Wave Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 91.4

🧊Medium Investment

Hail Mitigation

Replace roof with Class 4 impact-resistant shingles to significantly lower insurance premiums.

Risk Score: 93.3

💨Low Investment

Strong Wind Mitigation

Trim large trees back from the roofline and reinforce roof-to-wall connectors (hurricane straps).

Risk Score: 88.7

🏠Low Investment

Winter Weather Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 91.0

Methodology and Sources

Spatial Climate Risk Modeling

The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) and hazard risk scores are derived from the FEMA NRI zip code dataset using a population-weighted spatial join. Because Zip Codes and Census Tracts do not share perfectly aligned boundaries, we utilize US Census Block Group population centroids to identify where residents actually live.

Financial & Insurance Metrics

The pysical resilence score is calculated by synthesizing Expected Annual Loss (EAL) against the total building replacement value within a jurisdiction. This creates a "Loss Ratio" that measures physical resilience. We supplement this with ZIP-code level data from the U.S. Treasury's Federal Insurance Office (FIO), monitoring trends in premium growth, loss ratios, and policy non-renewals to identify emerging "Insurance Deserts."

Primary Data Sources

FEMA National Flood Hazard LayerHigh-resolution vector data for 100-year and 500-year flood zones.
U.S. Department of the TreasuryFIO ZIP-code level insurance data (2018–2022 Historical Set).
FEMA National Risk IndexBaseline hazard frequency and economic loss data (v1.20.0).
U.S. Census BureauTIGER/Line 2025 Shapefiles & Decennial Population Statistics.

Nearby Locations

Zip Code 50548