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Natural hazards · Bell

Bell, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bell comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Bell?

9
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bell to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves47%Inland flooding38%Strong wind7%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Bell faces

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

Cold waves

47% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

HurricanesEarthquakesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bell flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Bell isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bayfield County.
Disasters that hit Bell

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BellDeclared for Bayfield County only
2018

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$142K to the Town of Bell for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$105K to the Town of Bell for repairs
2012

Severe Storms and Flooding

$332K to the Town of Bell for repairs
2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$54K to the Town of Bell for repairs
1999

Wi-Flood-07/20/99

$33K to the Town of Bell for repairs
Bayfield County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Bell

Bell and the towns around it

Clover: Very low, mostly cold wavesBayfield: Very low, mostly cold wavesBayview: Very low, mostly cold wavesWashburn: Very low, mostly cold wavesPort Wing: Very low, mostly cold wavesRussell: Very low, mostly cold wavesWashburn: Very low, mostly cold wavesBarksdale: Very low, mostly cold wavesTripp: Very low, mostly cold wavesBell: Very low, mostly cold waves BellCloverBayfieldBayviewWashburn
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Bellmostly cold wavesVery low
Clovermostly cold wavesVery low
Bayfieldmostly cold wavesVery low
Bayviewmostly cold wavesVery low
Washburnmostly 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. Bell 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 Bell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bell. 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.

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You’re in Bell, WIBayfield CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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