Glenville’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Glenville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Glenville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Glenville flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Glenville. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Glenville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Freeborn County.How exposed is Glenville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.
Rated higher than 1,743 of the 2,631 Minnesota towns we cover.
Glenville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Glenville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Drought
Tornadoes
Cold waves
Strong wind
4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Glenville
Disasters that paid out in Glenville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Glenville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding6 households applied for aid$23K aid approved$60K to the City of Glenville for repairs
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$26K to the City of Glenville for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding21 households applied for aid$56K aid approved
- 2001Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$102K to the City of Glenville for repairs
Freeborn County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Glenville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Glenville archive →Get ready for what Glenville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- On a well? Know how deep it is and watch for sputtering.
- Follow the town’s watering limits.
- Fix drips: they add up.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Glenville and its neighbors
Glenville ranks 2nd calmest of 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenville | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Shell Rock | Moderate | inland flooding | 8 |
| Hayward | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Freeman | Low | inland flooding | 1 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in May–June
The month each of Freeborn County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Glenville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Glenville.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Glenville.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.