Natural hazards · Holmes

Holmes, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Holmes comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Holmes?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Holmes to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves25%Tornadoes13%Strong wind7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Holmes faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Cold waves

25% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Holmes flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Douglas County.

Disasters that hit Holmes

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HolmesDeclared for Douglas County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$5K to the Township of Holmes for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$17K to the Township of Holmes for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$7K to the Township of Holmes for repairs

Douglas County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Holmes

Holmes and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ben Wademostly inland floodingHigh

Moemostly inland floodingLow

Solemmostly inland floodingLow

Holmes Citymostly inland floodingLow

Lake Marymostly inland floodingLow

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