Natural hazards · Chief

Chief, MN natural hazards

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

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chief to be higher than in 19% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding41%Cold waves22%Drought11%Tornadoes8%Strong wind7%Hail6%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Chief faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% 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 Chief flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mahnomen County.

Disasters that hit Chief

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChiefDeclared for Mahnomen County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$4K to the Township of Chief for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$5K to the Township of Chief for repairs

2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Township of Chief for repairs

Mahnomen County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Chief

Chief and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Beaulieumostly inland floodingLow

Rosedalemostly inland floodingLow

Chiefmostly inland floodingVery low

Marsh Creekmostly inland floodingVery low

Gregorymostly inland floodingVery low

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