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Natural hazards · Dawson

Dawson, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dawson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1992. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Dawson?

69
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dawson to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding49%Cold waves23%Heat waves8%Tornadoes7%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Dawson 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
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places
Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 8 years 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 Dawson flood?

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

26paid claims since 1992
$188Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19922026

Biggest named events

  • Severe flooding: 1 claim, $2K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Dawson isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lac qui Parle County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

20flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Dawson

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DawsonDeclared for Lac qui Parle County only
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$13K to the City of Dawson for repairs
2022

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

$8K to the City of Dawson for repairs
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$81K to the City of Dawson for repairs
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$14K to the City of Dawson for repairs
2010

Flooding

$58K to the City of Dawson for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$20K to the City of Dawson for repairs
Lac qui Parle County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
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. Dawson 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 Dawson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Dawson. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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