Beaver Bay is calmer than 78% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Beaver Bay comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Beaver Bay’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Beaver Bay?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.
Calmer than 2,416 of the 2,631 Minnesota towns we cover.
Beaver Bay is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Beaver Bay faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Cold waves
Inland flooding
Strong wind
Lightning
Does Beaver Bay flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Beaver Bay. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Beaver Bay isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lake County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Beaver Bay
Disasters that paid out in Beaver Bay itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Beaver Bay) and its biggest flood years.
- 2012Severe Storms and Flooding$5K to the City of Beaver Bay for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding$8K to the City of Beaver Bay for repairs
- 2001Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$5K to the City of Beaver Bay for repairs
- 1999Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding$7K to the City of Beaver Bay for repairs
Lake County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Beaver Bay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Beaver Bay archive →Get ready for what Beaver Bay actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in June–August
The month each of Lake County’s 10 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Beaver Bay’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Beaver Bay.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Beaver Bay.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.