Centralia, Kansas
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Home Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66415. The Survey maps it on the Centralia quadrangle. 485 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,273 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresCentralia fell from 512 to 485 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 512 | |
| 2020 | 485 | -27 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 14 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1889 USGS Seneca quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Seneca quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Manhattan quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Manhattan quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Manhattan quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Centralia quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Blue Rapids quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
6 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Centralia between 2015 and 2018, burning about 53 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nemaha County | 13 |
| 19 April 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1 |
| 9 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2 |
| 8 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 1 |
| 8 March 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 12 |
| 12 March 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 3 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
45 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Centralia in 45 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 16 hail, 12 flash flood, 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1993 | Tornado (F2) | Centralia | $5,000,000 | The longest track tornado of the day moved southwest to northeast across Nemaha county miraculously producing no deaths or injuries. However significant damage occurred to about 20 different farms or farmsteads and related business, machinery and buildings. The tornado just missed populated areas and remained generally in fields and farm areas. Excessive rain in the days after the storm hampered cleanup. Property damage from the tornado was estimated at $1.1 million. In some areas the tornado was about 1/2 mile wide while in other areas damage was only about 100 yards wide. At times the tornado had multiple vortices. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | $50,000 | Strong winds damaged 3 to 4 houses near Centralia. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | $25,000 | Strong winds blew down a barn. |
| April 2026 | Flash Flood | Centralia | $10,000 | Kansas department of transportation is shutting down highway K-187 near 112th road due to flooding. |
| April 2026 | Flash Flood | Centralia | $10,000 | Black Vermillion River is out of its banks and threatening the community. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | $2,000 | Eighty mph winds caused a roof to collapse. |
| May 2005 | Flash Flood | Centralia | $1,000 | Fast flowing water running across highway 187. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Flood | Centralia | - | Part of southbound lane of Highway 187 covered by water. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | - | A tree around 8-12 inches in diameter was snapped. A home took siding and window damage, and a sheet metal roof was peeled back on a carport-style outbuilding. |
| July 2020 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Water reported over 120th Road. |
| September 2016 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Flooding is ongoing in several parts of Nemaha County, including Centralia. K-187 is closed between MM-3 and MM-4, a county road is closed near Seneca, and portions of Tennessee Creek and Nemaha River are out of their banks near Seneca. |
| September 2016 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Highway 187 is closed 2 miles north of Centralia due to water across the road. |
| September 2016 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Highway 187 is closed 2 miles north of Centralia due to water across the road. |
| May 2016 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Water over the roadway on Highway-187, two miles north of K-9. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Weyer creek is running across K-187 and is 1 foot deep. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Flooding continues along Weyer creek on k-187. |
| May 2013 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Reports of of K187 closed near Centralia due to water over the roadway. |
| May 2013 | Tornado (EF3) | Centralia | - | NWS storm survey indicated that a tornado touched down initially approximately 4 miles west of Corning. The tornado became large and strong producing EF3 damage along its path. It moved slowly and eventually turned north northeast before ending. Maximum winds were estimated around 150 mph. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | - | Two sheds blown onto their roofs and moved up to 20 feet through wire fence. TV antenna also snapped and blown about 60 feet. |
| July 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | Centralia | - | A weather observer near Centralia and his wife snapped some pictures of this event. The observer reported he could see rotation all the way towards the ground, and it does appear that a brief landspout did touch down. No damage was reported to the office. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | - | A trained spotter reported 4 to 5 inch tree limbs blown down. |
| September 2007 | Flash Flood | Centralia | - | Hwy 187 closed due to flooding between the town of Centralia and Hwy 36. |
| September 2007 | Funnel Cloud | Centralia | - | Public report of a funnel cloud relayed to emergency manager. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| April 2018 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| September 2015 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| September 2015 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Flood | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Centralia | - | no account filed |
| March 1995 | Hail | Centralia | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly | 6.6 miles | 14 | |
| Corning | 7.0 miles | 14 | |
| Seneca | 8.2 miles | 14 | |
| Beckerville | 8.2 miles | 14 | |
| Baileyville | 8.7 miles | 14 | |
| Goff | 11.2 miles | 17 | |
| Saint Benedict | 11.2 miles | 14 | |
| Neuchatel | 11.6 miles | 14 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Centralia | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2241073 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 473214. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






