Natural hazards · Chippewa Falls

Chippewa Falls, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chippewa Falls comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chippewa Falls?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding49%Cold waves20%Tornadoes9%Hail7%Strong wind7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Chippewa Falls faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Chippewa Falls flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pope County.

Disasters that hit Chippewa Falls

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Chippewa FallsDeclared for Pope County only

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$1K to the Township of Chippewa Falls for repairs

Pope County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Chippewa Falls

Chippewa Falls and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Barsnessmostly inland floodingHigh

Gilchristmostly inland floodingHigh

Chippewa Fallsmostly inland floodingModerate

Sedanmostly inland floodingModerate

Bangormostly inland floodingModerate

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