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Natural hazards · Western

Western, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Western comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Western?

24
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Western to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding55%Cold waves20%Tornadoes12%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Western faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places
Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Western flood?

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

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

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WesternDeclared for Otter Tail County only
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$5K to the Township of Western for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$16K to the Township of Western for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$4K to the Township of Western for repairs
Otter Tail County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Western

Western and the towns around it

Orwell: Low, mostly inland floodingAastad: Low, mostly inland floodingLawrence: Low, mostly inland floodingBradford: High, mostly inland floodingFergus Falls: Very low, mostly inland floodingBuse: Very low, mostly inland floodingFergus Falls: Low, mostly inland floodingFoxhome: High, mostly inland floodingCarlisle: Low, mostly inland floodingTumuli: Low, mostly inland floodingStony Brook: Low, mostly inland floodingChampion: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Ottawa: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBrandrup: High, mostly inland floodingWestern: Low, mostly inland flooding WesternOrwellAastadLawrenceBradford
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Bradfordmostly inland floodingHigh
Lawrencemostly inland floodingLow
Westernmostly inland floodingLow
Orwellmostly inland floodingLow
Aastadmostly 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. Western 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 Western’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Western. 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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Western, MNOtter Tail 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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