Natural hazards · Ellsburg

Ellsburg, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ellsburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ellsburg?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ellsburg to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves46%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Ellsburg faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

46% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ellsburg flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: St. Louis County.

Disasters that hit Ellsburg

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EllsburgDeclared for St. Louis County only

2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$13K to the Township of Ellsburg for repairs

1999

Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding

$3K to the Township of Ellsburg for repairs

St. Louis County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Ellsburg

Ellsburg and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

McDavittmostly cold wavesHigh

Ellsburgmostly inland floodingHigh

Cottonmostly inland floodingHigh

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