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Natural hazards · St. James

St. James, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. James comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is St. James?

29
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. James to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves37%Inland flooding28%Tornadoes16%Strong wind8%Heat waves5%Everything else7%
By hazard

What St. James faces

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

Cold waves

37% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 St. James flood?

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

1paid claims since 2024
$55Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20242026

Biggest named events

  • June Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $55K
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. St. James isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Watonwan County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit St. James

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. JamesDeclared for Watonwan County only
2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

49 households applied for aid $191K aid approved $36K to the City of St. James for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$22K to the City of St. James for repairs
Watonwan County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around St. James

St. James and the towns around it

St. James: Low, mostly inland floodingRosendale: Low, mostly inland floodingLong Lake: Low, mostly inland floodingButterfield: Low, mostly inland floodingNelson: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSouth Branch: Low, mostly inland floodingFieldon: Low, mostly inland floodingRiverdale: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSt. James: Low, mostly cold waves St. JamesSt. JamesRosendale
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
St. Jamesmostly inland floodingLow
Rosendalemostly inland floodingLow
St. Jamesmostly 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. St. James covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to St. James’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of St. James. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across St. James total about $2.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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