Natural hazards · Gilchrist

Gilchrist, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gilchrist comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gilchrist?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gilchrist to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding58%Cold waves16%Hail7%Tornadoes6%Strong wind6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Gilchrist faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 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 Gilchrist flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pope County.

Disasters that hit Gilchrist

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GilchristDeclared for Pope County only

2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$4K to the Township of Gilchrist for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$2K to the Township of Gilchrist for repairs

Pope County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Gilchrist

Gilchrist and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Gilchristmostly inland floodingHigh

Rolling Forksmostly inland floodingHigh

Kerkhovenmostly inland floodingModerate

Lake Johannamostly inland floodingModerate

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