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Natural hazards · Charlestown

Charlestown, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Charlestown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Charlestown?

27
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Charlestown to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding38%Cold waves20%Tornadoes8%Hail8%Heat waves8%Strong wind8%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Charlestown faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Charlestown flood?

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

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

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CharlestownDeclared for Redwood County only
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$11K to the Township of Charlestown for repairs
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Township of Charlestown for repairs
2010

Flooding

$7K to the Township of Charlestown for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$3K to the Township of Charlestown for repairs
Redwood County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Charlestown

Charlestown and the towns around it

Sanborn: Low, mostly inland floodingWillow Lake: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLamberton: Low, mostly inland floodingNorth Star: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Avon: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSundown: Low, mostly inland floodingWaterbury: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHighwater: Low, mostly inland floodingNorth Hero: Low, mostly inland floodingSpringfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStately: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBurnstown: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCharlestown: Low, mostly inland flooding CharlestownSanbornWillow LakeLambertonNorth Star
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
North Starmostly inland floodingModerate
Willow Lakemostly inland floodingModerate
Charlestownmostly inland floodingLow
Sanbornmostly inland floodingLow
Lambertonmostly 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. Charlestown 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 Charlestown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Charlestown. 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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You’re in Charlestown, MNRedwood CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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