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Natural hazards · South Bend

South Bend, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in South Bend comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is South Bend?

60
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in South Bend to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves21%Strong wind9%Tornadoes8%Drought7%Hail5%Everything else4%
By hazard

What South Bend 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 73% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% 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

Hail

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice 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 South Bend flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. South Bend isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Blue Earth County.
Disasters that hit South Bend

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into South BendDeclared for Blue Earth County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

$161K to the Township of South Bend for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$82K to the Township of South Bend for repairs
2014

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$74K to the Township of South Bend for repairs
2010

Flooding

$32K to the Township of South Bend for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$14K to the Township of South Bend for repairs
Blue Earth County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around South Bend

South Bend and the towns around it

Belgrade: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMankato: High, mostly inland floodingSkyline: High, mostly inland floodingMankato: Low, mostly cold wavesJudson: High, mostly inland floodingRapidan: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Mankato: Low, mostly inland floodingLime: Low, mostly cold wavesKasota: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNicollet: Moderate, mostly inland floodingOshawa: Moderate, mostly inland floodingEagle Lake: Low, mostly cold wavesDecoria: High, mostly inland floodingLe Ray: Low, mostly cold wavesLake Crystal: Moderate, mostly inland floodingButternut Valley: High, mostly inland floodingGarden City: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCambria: High, mostly inland floodingLyra: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSouth Bend: High, mostly inland flooding South BendBelgradeMankatoSkylineMankatoJudsonRapidan
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Rapidanmostly inland floodingHigh
Mankatomostly inland floodingHigh
Skylinemostly inland floodingHigh
South Bendmostly inland floodingHigh
Judsonmostly inland floodingHigh
Belgrademostly inland floodingModerate
Mankatomostly cold wavesLow
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. South Bend 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 South Bend’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of South Bend. 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.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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