Natural hazards · Towner

Towner, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Towner comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Towner?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Towner 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 Towner 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 Towner flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Towner 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 Towner

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TownerDeclared for McHenry County only

2011

Flooding

58 households applied for aid $144K aid approved $4K to the City of Towner for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

24 households applied for aid $32K aid approved $2K to the City of Towner for repairs

2005

Severe Winter Storm and Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$9K to the City of Towner for repairs

2004

Snow

$2K to the City of Towner for repairs

McHenry County has had 29 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. Towner 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 Towner’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Towner. 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.