Natural hazards · Mitchell

Mitchell, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mitchell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mitchell?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mitchell to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding54%Cold waves14%Hail13%Strong wind10%Tornadoes6%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Mitchell faces

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

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Mitchell flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wilkin County.

Disasters that hit Mitchell

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MitchellDeclared for Wilkin County only

2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$3K to the Township of Mitchell for repairs

2010

Flooding

$3K to the Township of Mitchell for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$5K to the Township of Mitchell for repairs

Wilkin County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Mitchell

Mitchell and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Mitchellmostly inland floodingHigh

Manstonmostly inland floodingHigh

Robertsmostly inland floodingHigh

Deerhornmostly inland floodingHigh

Nordickmostly inland floodingHigh

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