Natural hazards · Stephen

Stephen, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Stephen comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 58 claims here since 1978. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Stephen?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Stephen to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding58%Cold waves22%Hail5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Stephen faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Stephen flood?

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

58paid claims since 1978

$324Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 48 claims, $292K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marshall County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

18flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Stephen

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into StephenDeclared for Marshall County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

16 households applied for aid $13K aid approved $15K to the City of Stephen for repairs

2006

Flooding

$47K to the City of Stephen for repairs

Marshall County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Stephen

Stephen and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Stephenmostly inland floodingHigh

Tamaracmostly inland floodingHigh

Sinnottmostly inland floodingHigh

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