Natural hazards · St. Paul

St. Paul, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Paul comes from hail, and overall the risk is high 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 St. Paul?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Paul to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail34%Inland flooding23%Drought16%Strong wind12%Tornadoes10%Everything else5%

By hazard

What St. Paul faces

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

Hail

34% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage

Recorded about 33 times a year in the area

Strong wind

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 St. Paul flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Howard County.

Disasters that hit St. Paul

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. PaulDeclared for Howard County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

50 households applied for aid $78K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$56K to the City of St. Paul for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storms

$7K to the City of St. Paul for repairs

2003

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$3K to the City of St. Paul for repairs

Howard County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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