Natural hazards · Lincoln

Lincoln, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lincoln comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lincoln?

High

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding46%Cold waves21%Strong wind9%Tornadoes8%Drought7%Hail5%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Lincoln 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 once a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Lincoln flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Lincoln 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 Lincoln

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Blue Earth County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lincoln itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into LincolnDeclared for Blue Earth County only

Blue Earth County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Lincoln

Lincoln and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lincolnmostly inland floodingHigh

Butternut Valleymostly inland floodingHigh

Madeliamostly inland floodingModerate

Cerescomostly 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. Lincoln 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 Lincoln’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Lincoln. 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.