Natural hazards · Shell Lake

Shell Lake, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shell Lake 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 Shell Lake?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Shell Lake to be higher than in 19% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding55%Tornadoes14%Cold waves11%Hail6%Strong wind6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Shell Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 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 Shell Lake flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Shell 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: Becker County.

Disasters that hit Shell Lake

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Shell LakeDeclared for Becker County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$6K to the Township of Shell Lake for repairs

Becker County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Shell Lake

Shell Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Carsonvillemostly inland floodingModerate

Round Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Shell Lakemostly inland floodingVery low

Toad Lakemostly inland floodingVery low

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