Natural hazards · Espelie

Espelie, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Espelie comes from drought, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Espelie?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Espelie to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought35%Inland flooding28%Cold waves15%Wildfire15%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Espelie faces

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

Drought

35% of expected damage

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Wildfire

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Espelie flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marshall County.

Disasters that hit Espelie

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EspelieDeclared for Marshall County only

2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$31K to the Township of Espelie for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$11K to the Township of Espelie for repairs

1999

Severe Ice Storm and Flooding

$5K to the Township of Espelie for repairs

Marshall County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Espelie

Espelie and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Reinermostly inland floodingVery high

Espeliemostly droughtHigh

Valleymostly droughtHigh

Moylanmostly droughtHigh

Leemostly inland floodingHigh

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