Natural hazards · Ottawa

Ottawa, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ottawa comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1983.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ottawa?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ottawa to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Tornadoes14%Strong wind13%Cold waves9%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Ottawa faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 44 years in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 29% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Ottawa flood?

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

13paid claims since 1983

$582Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $20K
Severe flooding: 1 claim, $17K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Le Sueur County.

Disasters that hit Ottawa

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Le Sueur County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ottawa itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into OttawaDeclared for Le Sueur County only

Le Sueur County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Ottawa

Ottawa and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Hendersonmostly inland floodingModerate

Ottawamostly inland floodingModerate

Le Sueurmostly inland floodingModerate

Lake Prairiemostly inland floodingModerate

Kasotamostly inland floodingModerate

Sharonmostly inland floodingLow

Tyronemostly 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. Ottawa covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ottawa’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Ottawa. 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 Ottawa total about $2.2M 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.