Natural hazards · Cerro Gordo

Cerro Gordo, MN natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cerro Gordo to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding32%Cold waves30%Heat waves11%Tornadoes9%Strong wind6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Cerro Gordo faces

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

30% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Heat waves

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Cerro Gordo flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lac qui Parle County.

Disasters that hit Cerro Gordo

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Cerro GordoDeclared for Lac qui Parle County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$8K to the Township of Cerro Gordo for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$5K to the Township of Cerro Gordo for repairs

Lac qui Parle County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Cerro Gordo

Cerro Gordo and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Riversidemostly inland floodingHigh

Lac qui Parlemostly inland floodingHigh

Cerro Gordomostly inland floodingLow

Hanthomostly inland floodingLow

Madisonmostly inland floodingLow

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