Natural hazards · Balsam

Balsam, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Balsam comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very 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 Balsam?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Balsam to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding71%Cold waves21%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Balsam faces

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

Inland flooding

71% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Balsam flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Aitkin County.

Disasters that hit Balsam

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BalsamDeclared for Aitkin County only

2012

Severe Storms and Flooding

$17K to the Township of Balsam for repairs

1999

Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding

$8K to the Township of Balsam for repairs

Aitkin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Balsam

Balsam and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Balsammostly inland floodingVery high

Turnermostly inland floodingVery high

Prairie Lakemostly inland floodingHigh

Haugenmostly inland floodingHigh

Besemanmostly cold wavesLow

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