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Natural hazards · Emerald

Emerald, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Emerald 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 Emerald?

54
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Emerald to be higher than in 54% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding39%Drought22%Cold waves12%Tornadoes11%Strong wind8%Hail5%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Emerald faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

22% of expected damage
Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 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 Emerald flood?

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

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

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EmeraldDeclared for Faribault County only
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$16K to the Township of Emerald for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Township of Emerald for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$18K to the Township of Emerald for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$8K to the Township of Emerald for repairs
Faribault County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Emerald

Emerald and the towns around it

Blue Earth City: High, mostly inland floodingBarber: Low, mostly inland floodingBrush Creek: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFrost: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRome: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBlue Earth: High, mostly inland floodingElmore: Moderate, mostly inland floodingJo Daviess: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPrescott: Low, mostly inland floodingWalnut Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingLura: Low, mostly inland floodingSeely: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFoster: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEmerald: Moderate, mostly inland flooding EmeraldBlue Earth CityBarberBrush CreekFrostRome
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Blue Earth Citymostly inland floodingHigh
Emeraldmostly inland floodingModerate
Brush Creekmostly inland floodingModerate
Frostmostly inland floodingModerate
Romemostly inland floodingModerate
Barbermostly 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. Emerald 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 Emerald’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Emerald. 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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You’re in Emerald, MNFaribault CountyView boundary

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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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