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Natural hazards · Vernon

Vernon, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Vernon 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 Vernon?

70
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Vernon to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Tornadoes13%Cold waves9%Drought8%Strong wind7%Hail6%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Vernon faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% 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 Vernon flood?

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

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

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VernonDeclared for Dodge County only
2014

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

$10K to the Township of Vernon for repairs
2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$3K to the Township of Vernon for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$5K to the Township of Vernon for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$10K to the Township of Vernon for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$10K to the Township of Vernon for repairs
Dodge County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Vernon

Vernon and the towns around it

Rock Dell: Low, mostly inland floodingCanisteo: High, mostly inland floodingHayfield: High, mostly inland floodingHigh Forest: Low, mostly inland floodingSalem: Low, mostly inland floodingMantorville: High, mostly inland floodingKasson: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAshland: Low, mostly inland floodingWestfield: High, mostly inland floodingWaltham: High, mostly inland floodingVernon: High, mostly inland flooding VernonRock DellCanisteoHayfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Vernonmostly inland floodingHigh
Canisteomostly inland floodingHigh
Hayfieldmostly inland floodingHigh
Rock Dellmostly inland floodingLow
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. Vernon 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 Vernon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Vernon. 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.

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You’re in Vernon, MNDodge CountyView boundary

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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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