Natural hazards · Hawley

Hawley, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hawley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 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 Hawley?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hawley to be higher than in 77% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding62%Cold waves18%Tornadoes5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Hawley faces

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

Inland flooding

62% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Hawley flood?

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

3paid claims since 1978

$21Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 2 claims, $20K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Hawley 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.

Disasters that hit Hawley

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HawleyDeclared for Clay County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

Clay County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Hawley

Hawley and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Eglonmostly inland floodingVery high

Hawleymostly inland floodingHigh

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. Hawley 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 Hawley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hawley. 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.