Natural hazards · Smiley

Smiley, MN natural hazards

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

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Smiley to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding80%Drought8%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Smiley faces

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

Inland flooding

80% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Smiley flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pennington County.

Disasters that hit Smiley

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SmileyDeclared for Pennington County only

2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$5K to the Township of Smiley for repairs

Pennington County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Smiley

Smiley and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Smileymostly inland floodingVery high

Kratkamostly inland floodingVery high

Wyandottemostly inland floodingVery high

Silvertonmostly inland floodingVery high

Rocksburymostly inland floodingVery high

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