TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
EllendaleGood morning
Natural hazards · Ellendale

Ellendale, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ellendale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Ellendale?

32
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ellendale to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes22%Strong wind12%Cold waves10%Hail8%Drought8%Everything else2%
By hazard

What Ellendale faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Strong wind

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage
Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Ellendale flood?

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

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

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EllendaleDeclared for Steele County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $750 aid approved $3K to the City of Ellendale for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $1K aid approved
2014

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

$27K to the City of Ellendale for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$3K to the City of Ellendale for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$2K to the City of Ellendale for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

16 households applied for aid $65K aid approved $122K to the City of Ellendale for repairs
Steele County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Ellendale

Ellendale and the towns around it

Berlin: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSummit: Low, mostly inland floodingLemond: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Richland: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBlooming Prairie: Low, mostly inland floodingSomerset: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEllendale: Low, mostly inland flooding EllendaleBerlinSummit
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Berlinmostly inland floodingModerate
Ellendalemostly inland floodingLow
Summitmostly 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. Ellendale 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 Ellendale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ellendale. 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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Ellendale, MNView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Ellendale is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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