Natural hazards · International Falls

International Falls, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in International Falls comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high 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 International Falls?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in International Falls to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding74%Cold waves22%Everything else5%

By hazard

What International Falls faces

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

Inland flooding

74% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 International Falls flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Koochiching County.

Disasters that hit International Falls

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into International FallsDeclared for Koochiching County only

2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$121K to the City of International Falls for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$12K to the City of International Falls for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$5K to the City of International Falls for repairs

Koochiching County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

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. International Falls covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to International Falls’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of International Falls. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across International Falls total about $3.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.