Natural hazards · Fossum

Fossum, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fossum comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Fossum?

41
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fossum to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves29%Inland flooding27%Drought16%Hail11%Strong wind7%Tornadoes5%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Fossum faces

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

Cold waves

29% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years 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 Fossum flood?

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

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

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FossumDeclared for Norman County only
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$13K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$9K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$15K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$14K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2010

Flooding

$11K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$63K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2006

Flooding

$39K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$30K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$17K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Township of Fossum for repairs
Norman County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Fossum

Fossum and the towns around it

Flom: Moderate, mostly cold wavesWild Rice: Moderate, mostly cold wavesPembina: Very low, mostly inland floodingWaukon: Moderate, mostly cold wavesHome Lake: Moderate, mostly cold wavesWalworth: Low, mostly inland floodingPopple Grove: Very low, mostly inland floodingSpring Creek: Moderate, mostly inland floodingLake Ida: Moderate, mostly cold wavesStrand: Moderate, mostly cold wavesMahnomen: Very low, mostly inland floodingRosedale: Low, mostly inland floodingMarsh Creek: Very low, mostly inland floodingBear Park: Moderate, mostly cold wavesFossum: Moderate, mostly cold waves FossumFlomWild RicePembinaWaukon
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Fossummostly cold wavesModerate
Flommostly cold wavesModerate
Wild Ricemostly cold wavesModerate
Waukonmostly cold wavesModerate
Pembinamostly inland floodingVery low
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. Fossum 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 Fossum’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Fossum. 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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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01