Natural hazards · Perham

Perham, MN natural hazards

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

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Perham to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding51%Cold waves23%Tornadoes13%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Perham faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 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 Perham flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Perham 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 Perham

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PerhamDeclared for Otter Tail County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$1K to the Township of Perham for repairs

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

Around Perham

Perham and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Rush Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Gormanmostly inland floodingLow

Ednamostly inland floodingLow

Perhammostly inland floodingVery low

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