Natural hazards · Wheaton

Wheaton, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wheaton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2001. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wheaton?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wheaton to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding50%Cold waves21%Strong wind9%Hail8%Tornadoes7%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Wheaton faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Wheaton flood?

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

1paid claims since 2001

$14Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20012026

Biggest named events

Severe flooding: 1 claim, $14K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Traverse County.

Disasters that hit Wheaton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WheatonDeclared for Traverse County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $30K aid approved

Traverse County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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