Natural hazards · Bellechester

Bellechester, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bellechester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bellechester?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bellechester to be higher than in 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding58%Tornadoes16%Strong wind10%Hail7%Cold waves5%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Bellechester faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Bellechester flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Goodhue County.

Disasters that hit Bellechester

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Goodhue County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bellechester itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into BellechesterDeclared for Goodhue County only

Goodhue County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Bellechester

Bellechester and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Chestermostly inland floodingHigh

Bellechestermostly inland floodingHigh

Belvideremostly 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. Bellechester 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 Bellechester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bellechester. 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.