Natural hazards · Oslo

Oslo, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oslo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 35 claims here since 1978. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Oslo?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oslo to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding58%Cold waves22%Hail5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Oslo faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce 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 Oslo flood?

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

35paid claims since 1978

$291Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 11 claims, $25K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marshall County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

20flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Oslo

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OsloDeclared for Marshall County only

2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$18K to the City of Oslo for repairs

2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$65K to the City of Oslo for repairs

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$41K to the City of Oslo for repairs

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$119K to the City of Oslo for repairs

2010

Flooding

$123K to the City of Oslo for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

71 households applied for aid $42K aid approved $146K to the City of Oslo for repairs

2006

Flooding

$47K to the City of Oslo for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$15K to the City of Oslo for repairs

1999

Severe Ice Storm and Flooding

$7K to the City of Oslo for repairs

Marshall County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Oslo

Oslo and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Oslomostly inland floodingHigh

Oak Parkmostly inland floodingHigh

Turtle Rivermostly inland floodingHigh

Walshvillemostly inland floodingModerate

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