Natural hazards · Norwich

Norwich, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Norwich comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Norwich?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Norwich to be higher than in 14% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and cold waves.

Wildfire26%Cold waves26%Inland flooding22%Tornadoes7%Winter weather7%Ice storms5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Norwich faces

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

Wildfire

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 2% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Winter weather

7% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Ice storms

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

HailHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Norwich flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: McHenry County.

Disasters that hit Norwich

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NorwichDeclared for McHenry County only

2011

Flooding

8 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

McHenry County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Norwich

Norwich and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Surreymostly cold wavesLow

Marylandmostly cold wavesVery low

Norwichmostly wildfiresVery low

Kottke Valleymostly wildfiresVery low

Granvillemostly wildfiresVery low

North Prairiemostly cold wavesVery 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. Norwich 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 Norwich’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Norwich. 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.