Natural hazards · Gary

Gary, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gary comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gary?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gary 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 Gary 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 Gary flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Gary 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 Gary

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GaryDeclared for Norman County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

Norman County has had 28 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. Gary 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 Gary’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gary. 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.