Natural hazards · Brewster

Brewster, MN natural hazards

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

42
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Brewster to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding39%Hail17%Tornadoes15%Cold waves13%Drought6%Strong wind5%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Brewster faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

17% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places
Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 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 Brewster flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Brewster isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nobles County.
Disasters that hit Brewster

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrewsterDeclared for Nobles County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $41K aid approved $9K to the City of Brewster for repairs
2013

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the City of Brewster for repairs
Nobles County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Brewster

Brewster and the towns around it

Hersey: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAlba: High, mostly inland floodingGraham Lakes: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLorain: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElk: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLa Crosse: High, mostly inland floodingWest Heron Lake: High, mostly inland floodingEwington: High, mostly inland floodingBrewster: Moderate, mostly inland flooding BrewsterHerseyAlba
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Albamostly inland floodingHigh
Brewstermostly inland floodingModerate
Herseymostly 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. Brewster 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 Brewster’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Brewster. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01