Natural hazards · Crystal

Crystal, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Crystal comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Crystal?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Crystal to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding48%Cold waves24%Tornadoes13%Heat waves9%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Crystal faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Crystal flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Crystal, from FEMA’s records.

14paid claims since 1978

$87Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hennepin County.

Disasters that hit Crystal

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CrystalDeclared for Hennepin County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$50K to the City of Crystal for repairs

Hennepin County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Crystal

Crystal and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Brooklyn Centermostly inland floodingHigh

Robbinsdalemostly inland floodingHigh

Crystalmostly inland floodingModerate

New Hopemostly inland floodingModerate

Golden Valleymostly 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. Crystal covers 7 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Crystal’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Crystal. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Crystal total about $7.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.