Natural hazards · North Branch

North Branch, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in North Branch comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2019.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is North Branch?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in North Branch to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding47%Tornadoes17%Cold waves14%Strong wind9%Hail6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What North Branch faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice 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 North Branch flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in North Branch, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 2019

$11Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20192026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chisago County.

Disasters that hit North Branch

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Chisago County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching North Branch itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into North BranchDeclared for Chisago County only

Chisago County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around North Branch

North Branch and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Sunrisemostly inland floodingHigh

Harrismostly inland floodingHigh

Stacymostly inland floodingHigh

North Branchmostly inland floodingModerate

North Branchmostly 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. North Branch covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to North Branch’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of North Branch. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across North Branch total about $3.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.