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Natural hazards · Orwell

Orwell, MN natural hazards

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

24
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Orwell to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding55%Cold waves20%Tornadoes12%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Orwell faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places
Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Orwell flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Orwell isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Otter Tail County.
Disasters that hit Orwell

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OrwellDeclared for Otter Tail County only
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2K to the Township of Orwell for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$14K to the Township of Orwell for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$4K to the Township of Orwell for repairs
Otter Tail County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Orwell

Orwell and the towns around it

Fergus Falls: Very low, mostly inland floodingBuse: Very low, mostly inland floodingFergus Falls: Low, mostly inland floodingWestern: Low, mostly inland floodingFoxhome: High, mostly inland floodingCarlisle: Low, mostly inland floodingAurdal: Low, mostly inland floodingDane Prairie: Low, mostly inland floodingAastad: Low, mostly inland floodingElizabeth: Low, mostly inland floodingLawrence: Low, mostly inland floodingBradford: High, mostly inland floodingSunnyside: High, mostly inland floodingFoxhome: High, mostly inland floodingAndrea: High, mostly inland floodingOscar: Low, mostly inland floodingAkron: High, mostly inland floodingOrwell: Low, mostly inland flooding OrwellFergus FallsBuseFergus FallsWesternFoxhomeCarlisle
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Foxhomemostly inland floodingHigh
Orwellmostly inland floodingLow
Westernmostly inland floodingLow
Fergus Fallsmostly inland floodingLow
Carlislemostly inland floodingLow
Busemostly inland floodingVery low
Fergus Fallsmostly inland floodingVery low
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. Orwell 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 Orwell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Orwell. 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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Orwell, MNOtter Tail CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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