Natural hazards · Alton

Alton, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Alton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Alton?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Alton to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding35%Drought20%Cold waves15%Strong wind12%Tornadoes10%Hail7%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Alton faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

20% of expected damage

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Strong wind

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Alton flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Alton.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Alton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Waseca County.

Disasters that hit Alton

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Alton itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of Alton.

Brought FEMA money into AltonDeclared for Waseca County only

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$11K to the Township of Alton for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$25K to the Township of Alton for repairs

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$8K to the Township of Alton for repairs

Waseca County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Alton

Alton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

McPhersonmostly inland floodingHigh

Altonmostly inland floodingModerate

St. Marymostly inland floodingModerate

Janesvillemostly inland floodingModerate

Freedommostly inland floodingModerate

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Alton is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Alton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Alton. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.