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Natural hazards · Lake Crystal

Lake Crystal, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lake Crystal comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2004. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Lake Crystal?

50
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lake Crystal to be higher than in 50% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding41%Cold waves31%Tornadoes9%Strong wind8%Everything else12%
By hazard

What Lake Crystal faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

31% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 26 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 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 Lake Crystal flood?

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

2paid claims since 2004
$8Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20042026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Lake Crystal isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Blue Earth County.
Disasters that hit Lake Crystal

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Lake CrystalDeclared for Blue Earth County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

20 households applied for aid $84K aid approved $6K to the City of Lake Crystal for repairs
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$7K to the City of Lake Crystal for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$79K to the City of Lake Crystal for repairs
Blue Earth County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Lake Crystal

Lake Crystal and the towns around it

Judson: High, mostly inland floodingGarden City: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNicollet: Moderate, mostly inland floodingButternut Valley: High, mostly inland floodingSouth Bend: High, mostly inland floodingCambria: High, mostly inland floodingVernon Center: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRapidan: High, mostly inland floodingLincoln: High, mostly inland floodingLake Crystal: Moderate, mostly inland flooding Lake CrystalJudsonGarden City
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Judsonmostly inland floodingHigh
Lake Crystalmostly inland floodingModerate
Garden Citymostly inland floodingModerate
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. Lake Crystal 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 Lake Crystal’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lake Crystal. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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