Natural hazards · Ely

Ely, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ely comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low 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 Ely?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ely to be higher than in 5% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves75%Inland flooding18%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Ely faces

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

Cold waves

75% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesEarthquakesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ely flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ely 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Ely

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElyDeclared for St. Louis County only

2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $50K aid approved $26K to the City of Ely for repairs

1999

Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding

$2K to the City of Ely for repairs

St. Louis 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. Ely covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ely’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ely. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Ely total about $3.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.