Natural hazards · Lewis

Lewis, MN natural hazards

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

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lewis to be higher than in 54% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding65%Cold waves17%Tornadoes5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Lewis faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Lewis flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mille Lacs County.

Disasters that hit Lewis

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LewisDeclared for Mille Lacs County only

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$9K to the Township of Lewis for repairs

Mille Lacs County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Lewis

Lewis and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lewismostly inland floodingModerate

Onamiamostly inland floodingModerate

Ann Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Hillmanmostly inland floodingModerate

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