Natural hazards · Plainview

Plainview, MN natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Plainview to be higher than in 20% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding41%Tornadoes22%Cold waves12%Strong wind11%Hail8%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Plainview faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 36% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice 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 Plainview flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wabasha County.

Disasters that hit Plainview

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PlainviewDeclared for Wabasha County only

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

51 households applied for aid $76K aid approved

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

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. Plainview covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Plainview’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Plainview. 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 Plainview total about $1.3M 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.