Natural hazards · St. Joseph

St. Joseph, MN natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Joseph to be higher than in 30% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding52%Tornadoes18%Cold waves10%Strong wind8%Hail6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What St. Joseph faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 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 St. Joseph flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Stearns County.

Disasters that hit St. Joseph

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. JosephDeclared for Stearns County only

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$1K to the City of St. Joseph for repairs

Stearns County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around St. Joseph

St. Joseph and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Le Saukmostly inland floodingVery high

St. Wendelmostly inland floodingHigh

St. Cloudmostly inland floodingModerate

St. Josephmostly inland floodingLow

Waite Parkmostly 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. St. Joseph covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to St. Joseph’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of St. Joseph. 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. Joseph total about $3.0M 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.