Natural hazards · Custer

Custer, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Custer comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Custer?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Custer to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding43%Drought17%Cold waves16%Hail12%Tornadoes6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Custer faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

17% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Hail

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Custer flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lyon County.

Disasters that hit Custer

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CusterDeclared for Lyon County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$18K to the Township of Custer for repairs

2018

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

$51K to the Township of Custer for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$5K to the Township of Custer for repairs

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$14K to the Township of Custer for repairs

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$27K to the Township of Custer for repairs

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

Around Custer

Custer and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Custermostly inland floodingHigh

Monroemostly inland floodingHigh

Rock Lakemostly inland floodingHigh

Sodusmostly inland floodingHigh

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