Natural hazards · Colfax

Colfax, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Colfax 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 Colfax?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Colfax to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Cold waves14%Hail11%Strong wind11%Tornadoes7%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Colfax faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years 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 Colfax flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kandiyohi County.

Disasters that hit Colfax

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColfaxDeclared for Kandiyohi County only

2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$6K to the Township of Colfax for repairs

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

Around Colfax

Colfax and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Colfaxmostly inland floodingModerate

Lake Andrewmostly inland floodingModerate

Norway Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Burbankmostly inland floodingModerate

Crow Lakemostly inland floodingLow

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