Natural hazards · Cato

Cato, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cato comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low 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 Cato?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cato to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves18%Hail13%Tornadoes13%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Cato 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

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 24 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cato flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Manitowoc County.

Disasters that hit Cato

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CatoDeclared for Manitowoc County only

2000

Snow

$4K to the Town of Cato for repairs

Manitowoc County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Cato

Cato and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Manitowoc Rapidsmostly inland floodingLow

Franklinmostly inland floodingLow

Rocklandmostly inland floodingLow

Catomostly inland floodingVery low

Valdersmostly inland floodingVery low

Libertymostly inland floodingVery 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. Cato 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 Cato’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cato. 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.