Natural hazards · Georgetown

Georgetown, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Georgetown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 45 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Georgetown?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Georgetown to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding75%Cold waves11%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Georgetown faces

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

Inland flooding

75% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Georgetown flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Georgetown, from FEMA’s records.

45paid claims since 1978

$193Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 10 claims, $20K
Severe flooding: 1 claim, $3K
Winter storm: 1 claim, $3K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clay County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Georgetown

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GeorgetownDeclared for Clay County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

31 households applied for aid $42K aid approved

Clay County has had 25 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. Georgetown 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 Georgetown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Georgetown. 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.