Natural hazards · Shelly

Shelly, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shelly comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Shelly?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Shelly to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding37%Cold waves25%Drought13%Hail10%Strong wind6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Shelly faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

25% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Drought

13% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce 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 Shelly flood?

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

1paid claims since 1979

$11Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 1 claim, $11K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Norman County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Shelly

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ShellyDeclared for Norman County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

Norman County has had 28 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. Shelly 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 Shelly’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Shelly. 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.