Natural hazards · Windom

Windom, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Windom comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 29 claims here since 2010. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Windom?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Windom to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves21%Hail9%Tornadoes8%Strong wind6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Windom faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Windom flood?

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

29paid claims since 2010

$458Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

20102026

Biggest named events

June Midwest Flooding: 18 claims, $280K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cottonwood County.

Disasters that hit Windom

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WindomDeclared for Cottonwood County only

2024

Severe Storms and Flooding

346 households applied for aid $1.5M aid approved $660K to the City of Windom for repairs

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$99K to the City of Windom for repairs

2018

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$174K to the City of Windom for repairs

2013

Severe Winter Storm

$78K to the City of Windom for repairs

2010

Flooding

$20K to the City of Windom for repairs

Cottonwood County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Windom

Windom and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Windommostly inland floodingHigh

Great Bendmostly inland floodingHigh

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