Natural hazards · La Crescent

La Crescent, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in La Crescent comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 28 claims here since 1982. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is La Crescent?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in La Crescent to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding62%Cold waves21%Tornadoes9%Everything else8%

By hazard

What La Crescent 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 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 La Crescent flood?

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

28paid claims since 1982

$624Kpaid to owners

6homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Severe flooding: 15 claims, $453K
Midwest Flooding: 3 claims, $85K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Houston County.

Disasters that hit La Crescent

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into La CrescentDeclared for Houston County only

2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

$34K to the City of La Crescent for repairs

2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$133K to the City of La Crescent for repairs

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$23K to the City of La Crescent for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$11K to the City of La Crescent for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

263 households applied for aid $792K aid approved $116K to the City of La Crescent for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$221K to the City of La Crescent for repairs

Houston County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around La Crescent

La Crescent and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

La Crescentmostly inland floodingVery high

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