Natural hazards · Burns

Burns, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Burns comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Burns?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Burns to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding50%Cold waves28%Tornadoes9%Hail5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Burns faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

28% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Burns flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: La Crosse County.

Disasters that hit Burns

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BurnsDeclared for La Crosse County only

2016

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$12K to the Town of Burns for repairs

La Crosse County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Burns

Burns and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Burnsmostly inland floodingHigh

Bangormostly inland floodingHigh

Rocklandmostly inland floodingHigh

Little Fallsmostly inland floodingModerate

Farmingtonmostly inland floodingModerate

Spartamostly inland floodingModerate

Bangormostly inland floodingModerate

Hamiltonmostly 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. Burns covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Burns’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Burns. 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 Burns total about $3.2M 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.