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Natural hazards · Elgin

Elgin, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elgin comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Elgin?

75
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elgin to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding71%Tornadoes10%Strong wind6%Hail6%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Elgin faces

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

Inland flooding

71% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Elgin flood?

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

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

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElginDeclared for Wabasha County only
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$40K to the Township of Elgin for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$4K to the Township of Elgin for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$2K to the Township of Elgin for repairs
Wabasha County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Elgin

Elgin and the towns around it

Oakwood: High, mostly inland floodingPlainview: High, mostly inland floodingViola: Low, mostly inland floodingFarmington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWest Albany: High, mostly inland floodingHighland: High, mostly inland floodingZumbro: High, mostly inland floodingHyde Park: High, mostly inland floodingWhitewater: High, mostly inland floodingQuincy: Low, mostly inland floodingEyota: Low, mostly inland floodingHaverhill: High, mostly inland floodingOronoco: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElgin: High, mostly inland flooding ElginOakwoodPlainviewViolaFarmington
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Elginmostly inland floodingHigh
Oakwoodmostly inland floodingHigh
Plainviewmostly inland floodingHigh
Farmingtonmostly inland floodingModerate
Violamostly 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. Elgin 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 Elgin’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Elgin. 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/15 · 2025-01-01
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