Natural hazards · Elk Lake

Elk Lake, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elk Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elk Lake?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elk Lake to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding52%Cold waves20%Tornadoes8%Hail7%Strong wind6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Elk Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Elk Lake flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Grant County.

Disasters that hit Elk Lake

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Elk LakeDeclared for Grant County only

2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$6K to the Township of Elk Lake for repairs

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$20K to the Township of Elk Lake for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$5K to the Township of Elk Lake for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$8K to the Township of Elk Lake for repairs

Grant County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Elk Lake

Elk Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Elk Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Barrettmostly inland floodingModerate

Lienmostly inland floodingModerate

Landmostly inland floodingModerate

Erdahlmostly inland floodingLow

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