Natural hazards · Ross Lake

Ross Lake, MN natural hazards

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

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ross Lake to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding77%Cold waves14%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Ross Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

77% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 Ross Lake flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Crow Wing County.

Disasters that hit Ross Lake

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Ross LakeDeclared for Crow Wing County only

2012

Severe Storms and Flooding

$4K to the Township of Ross Lake for repairs

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

Around Ross Lake

Ross Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ross Lakemostly inland floodingHigh

Little Pinemostly inland floodingHigh

Fairfieldmostly inland floodingHigh

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