Natural hazards · Hayward

Hayward, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hayward comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hayward?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hayward to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding43%Drought22%Tornadoes17%Cold waves7%Strong wind7%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Hayward faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

22% of expected damage

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Hayward flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Hayward 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.

Disasters that hit Hayward

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HaywardDeclared for Freeborn County only

2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $24K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

14 households applied for aid $32K aid approved

Freeborn County has had 19 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. Hayward 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 Hayward’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hayward. 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.

Hayward, MN natural hazards

How exposed is Hayward?

What Hayward faces

Inland flooding

Drought

Tornadoes

Cold waves

Strong wind

Lower here

Not a risk here

Does Hayward flood?

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Severe Storms and Flooding

Severe Storms and Flooding

Severe Storms and Flooding

How to read this page

Where to, neighbor?

Matches

Nearby