Natural hazards · Otto

Otto, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Otto comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 2001. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Otto?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Otto to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding65%Cold waves17%Tornadoes9%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Otto faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 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 Otto flood?

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

5paid claims since 2001

$39Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20012026

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Otto 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 Otto

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OttoDeclared for Otter Tail County only

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$13K to the Township of Otto for repairs

Otter Tail County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Otto

Otto and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ottomostly inland floodingModerate

Newtonmostly inland floodingModerate

Rush Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Leaf Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Pine Lakemostly 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. Otto covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Otto’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Otto. 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 Otto total about $3.3M 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.