Natural hazards · Lakefield

Lakefield, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lakefield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lakefield?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lakefield to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves21%Tornadoes13%Hail8%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Lakefield 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

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice 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 Lakefield flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

Disasters that hit Lakefield

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LakefieldDeclared for Jackson County only

2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

13 households applied for aid $46K aid approved

Jackson County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Lakefield

Lakefield and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lakefieldmostly inland floodingHigh

Huntermostly inland floodingHigh

Heron Lakemostly 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. Lakefield 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 Lakefield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lakefield. 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.