Natural hazards · Elba

Elba, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elba comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 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 Elba?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elba to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding68%Tornadoes11%Cold waves11%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Elba faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Elba flood?

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

11paid claims since 1978

$277Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Winona County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Elba

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElbaDeclared for Winona County only

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $7K aid approved $23K to the City of Elba for repairs

Winona County has had 15 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. Elba 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 Elba’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Elba. 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.