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Natural hazards · Brown Deer

Brown Deer, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brown Deer comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 39 claims here since 1978. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Brown Deer?

37
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Brown Deer to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves40%Tornadoes7%Heat waves6%Everything else2%
By hazard

What Brown Deer faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

40% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Brown Deer flood?

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

39paid claims since 1978
$2.0Mpaid to owners
7homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • 2025-08-MilwaukeeMetro-Flood: 5 claims, $1.0M
  • Storm: 1 claim, $10K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

10flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
10buildings floodproofed
Disasters that hit Brown Deer

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Brown Deer itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Village of Brown Deer.

Brought FEMA money into Brown DeerDeclared for Milwaukee County only
2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

75 households applied for aid $296K aid approved
2025

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Mudslides

246 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$9K to the Village of Brown Deer for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

67 households applied for aid $108K aid approved $28K to the Village of Brown Deer for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

86 households applied for aid $163K aid approved $26K to the Village of Brown Deer for repairs
2008

Record Snow and Near Record Snow

$13K to the Village of Brown Deer for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $13K aid approved
2000

Snow

$10K to the Village of Brown Deer for repairs
Milwaukee County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Brown Deer

Brown Deer and the towns around it

River Hills: High, mostly inland floodingMilwaukee: Low, mostly cold wavesGlendale: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBayside: Very low, mostly cold wavesFox Point: Low, mostly cold wavesWauwatosa: Very low, mostly cold wavesGreenfield: Very low, mostly cold wavesShorewood: Moderate, mostly cold wavesWest Allis: Very low, mostly cold wavesSt. Francis: Very low, mostly cold wavesWest Milwaukee: Very low, mostly cold wavesMenomonee Falls: Very low, mostly inland floodingOak Creek: Very low, mostly cold wavesWhitefish Bay: Moderate, mostly cold wavesCudahy: Very low, mostly cold wavesBrown Deer: Low, mostly inland flooding Brown DeerRiver HillsMilwaukee
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
River Hillsmostly inland floodingHigh
Brown Deermostly inland floodingLow
Milwaukeemostly cold wavesLow
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. Brown Deer covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Brown Deer’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Brown Deer. 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 Brown Deer total about $5.9M 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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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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