Natural hazards · Forest

Forest, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Forest comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Forest?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Forest to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes19%Strong wind11%Hail9%Cold waves8%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Forest faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Forest flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rice County.

Disasters that hit Forest

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Rice County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Forest itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into ForestDeclared for Rice County only

Rice County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Forest

Forest and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Wellsmostly inland floodingVery high

Forestmostly inland floodingModerate

Erinmostly inland floodingModerate

Webstermostly inland floodingModerate

Bridgewatermostly inland floodingModerate

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