Natural hazards · Ash Lake

Ash Lake, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ash Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ash Lake?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ash Lake to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding48%Hail14%Cold waves11%Drought7%Tornadoes6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Ash Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Ash Lake flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lincoln County.

Disasters that hit Ash Lake

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Ash LakeDeclared for Lincoln County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$20K to the Township of Ash Lake for repairs

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$22K to the Township of Ash Lake for repairs

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

Around Ash Lake

Ash Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ash Lakemostly inland floodingHigh

Ivanhoemostly inland floodingHigh

Lake Staymostly inland floodingHigh

Diamond Lakemostly inland floodingHigh

Royalmostly inland floodingHigh

Shaokatanmostly inland floodingHigh

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. Ash Lake 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 Ash Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Ash Lake. 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.