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Natural hazards · Baraboo

Baraboo, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Baraboo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1993. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Baraboo?

27
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Baraboo to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding37%Cold waves27%Tornadoes18%Hail8%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Baraboo faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

27% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Hail

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Baraboo flood?

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

6paid claims since 1993
$233Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19932026

Biggest named events

  • Storm: 1 claim, $65K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Baraboo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sauk County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Baraboo

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BarabooDeclared for Sauk County only
2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $11K aid approved
2018

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

12 households applied for aid $4K aid approved $57K to the City of Baraboo for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

327 households applied for aid $566K aid approved $304K to the City of Baraboo for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

17 households applied for aid $15K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

40 households applied for aid $46K aid approved
2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$19K to the City of Baraboo for repairs
Sauk County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Baraboo

Baraboo and the towns around it

Baraboo: Low, mostly inland floodingWest Baraboo: Low, mostly inland floodingGreenfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSumpter: Very high, mostly inland floodingDelton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFreedom: Moderate, mostly inland floodingExcelsior: High, mostly inland floodingFairfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMerrimac: Very high, mostly inland floodingCaledonia: Very high, mostly inland floodingBaraboo: Low, mostly inland flooding BarabooBarabooWest BarabooGreenfield
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Greenfieldmostly inland floodingModerate
Baraboomostly inland floodingLow
Baraboomostly inland floodingLow
West Baraboomostly inland floodingLow
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. Baraboo covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Baraboo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Baraboo. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Baraboo total about $3.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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