Natural hazards · McPherson

McPherson, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in McPherson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is McPherson?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in McPherson to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding56%Cold waves19%Tornadoes7%Strong wind7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What McPherson faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 McPherson flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. McPherson 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 McPherson

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into McPhersonDeclared for Blue Earth County only

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$18K to the Township of McPherson for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$15K to the Township of McPherson for repairs

2010

Flooding

$6K to the Township of McPherson for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$9K to the Township of McPherson for repairs

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

Around McPherson

McPherson and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

McPhersonmostly inland floodingHigh

Decoriamostly inland floodingHigh

Altonmostly inland floodingModerate

Medomostly inland floodingLow

Le Raymostly cold wavesLow

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