Natural hazards · Caribou

Caribou, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Caribou comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Caribou?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Caribou to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding48%Wildfire18%Cold waves14%Drought6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Caribou 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 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

18% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Caribou flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kittson County.

Disasters that hit Caribou

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CaribouDeclared for Kittson County only

2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$3K to the Township of Caribou for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$4K to the Township of Caribou for repairs

1999

Severe Ice Storm and Flooding

$983 to the Township of Caribou for repairs

Kittson County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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