Natural hazards · West Union

West Union, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West Union comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 West Union?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Union to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding78%Everything else22%

By hazard

What West Union faces

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

Inland flooding

78% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 West Union flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Todd County.

Disasters that hit West Union

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into West UnionDeclared for Todd County only

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$8K to the Township of West Union for repairs

Todd County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around West Union

West Union and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

West Unionmostly inland floodingHigh

Gordonmostly inland floodingHigh

Kandotamostly inland floodingHigh

Ashleymostly inland floodingModerate

Orangemostly inland floodingModerate

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. West Union 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 West Union’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of West Union. 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.