Natural hazards · Orion

Orion, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Orion 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 Orion?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Orion to be higher than in 20% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding48%Cold waves20%Tornadoes16%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Orion faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Orion flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Olmsted County.

Disasters that hit Orion

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OrionDeclared for Olmsted County only

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the Township of Orion for repairs

Olmsted County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Orion

Orion and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Jordanmostly inland floodingModerate

Chatfieldmostly inland floodingModerate

Pleasant Grovemostly inland floodingLow

Orionmostly inland floodingLow

Elmiramostly inland floodingLow

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