Liberty’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Liberty comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Liberty’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Liberty flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Liberty. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Liberty isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Beltrami County.How exposed is Liberty?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 1,472 of the 2,631 Minnesota towns we cover.
Liberty is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Liberty faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Liberty
Disasters that paid out in Liberty itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Township of Liberty) and its biggest flood years.
- 2022Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding$23K to the Township of Liberty for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms and Flooding$15K to the Township of Liberty for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding$6K to the Township of Liberty for repairs
- 2001Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$9K to the Township of Liberty for repairs
- 1999Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding$25K to the Township of Liberty for repairs
Beltrami County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Liberty after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Liberty archive →Get ready for what Liberty actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Liberty and its neighbors
Liberty ranks 3rd calmest of 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Buzzle | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Turtle Lake | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Maple Ridge | Very low | inland flooding | 0 |
| Eckles | Very low | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in June–July
The month each of Beltrami County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Liberty’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Liberty.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Liberty.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.