Natural hazards · Riverdale

Riverdale, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Riverdale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2010.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Riverdale?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Riverdale to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves19%Tornadoes12%Drought7%Strong wind7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Riverdale faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Riverdale flood?

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

7paid claims since 2010

$506Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20102026

Biggest named events

June Midwest Flooding: 3 claims, $360K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Watonwan County.

Disasters that hit Riverdale

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into RiverdaleDeclared for Watonwan County only

Watonwan County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Riverdale

Riverdale and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Riverdalemostly inland floodingModerate

Madeliamostly inland floodingModerate

Nelsonmostly inland floodingModerate

Lake Hanskamostly inland floodingModerate

Rosendalemostly 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. Riverdale covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Riverdale’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Riverdale. 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 Riverdale total about $3.1M 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.