Natural hazards · Little Elbow

Little Elbow, MN natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Little Elbow to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding35%Cold waves26%Drought11%Tornadoes8%Strong wind7%Hail6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Little Elbow faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 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 Little Elbow flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mahnomen County.

Disasters that hit Little Elbow

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Little ElbowDeclared for Mahnomen County only

2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$1K to the Township of Little Elbow for repairs

Mahnomen County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Little Elbow

Little Elbow and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Eagle Viewmostly inland floodingModerate

Little Elbowmostly inland floodingLow

Oaklandmostly inland floodingLow

Twin Lakesmostly inland floodingLow

La Prairiemostly inland floodingLow

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