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Natural hazards · Waukon

Waukon, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waukon comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Waukon?

41
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waukon to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves29%Inland flooding27%Drought16%Hail11%Strong wind7%Tornadoes5%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Waukon faces

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

Cold waves

29% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years 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 Waukon flood?

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

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

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaukonDeclared for Norman County only
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the Township of Waukon for repairs
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$10K to the Township of Waukon for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$6K to the Township of Waukon for repairs
2006

Flooding

$1K to the Township of Waukon for repairs
2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$9K to the Township of Waukon for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$3K to the Township of Waukon for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$900 to the Township of Waukon for repairs
Norman County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Waukon

Waukon and the towns around it

Strand: Moderate, mostly cold wavesFossum: Moderate, mostly cold wavesMarsh Creek: Very low, mostly inland floodingBear Park: Moderate, mostly cold wavesGreen Meadow: Moderate, mostly cold wavesWild Rice: Moderate, mostly cold wavesSundal: Moderate, mostly cold wavesFlom: Moderate, mostly cold wavesPembina: Very low, mostly inland floodingMahnomen: Very low, mostly inland floodingChief: Very low, mostly inland floodingBejou: Very low, mostly inland floodingGarden: Low, mostly inland floodingWaukon: Moderate, mostly cold waves WaukonStrandFossumMarsh CreekBear Park
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Waukonmostly cold wavesModerate
Strandmostly cold wavesModerate
Fossummostly cold wavesModerate
Bear Parkmostly cold wavesModerate
Marsh Creekmostly 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. Waukon 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 Waukon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Waukon. 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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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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