Natural hazards · Charlestown

Charlestown, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Charlestown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Charlestown?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding46%Cold waves22%Tornadoes14%Hail10%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Charlestown faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 20 years in the area

Hail

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year 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 Charlestown flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Calumet County.

Disasters that hit Charlestown

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CharlestownDeclared for Calumet County only

2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$8K to the Town of Charlestown for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$18K to the Town of Charlestown for repairs

Calumet County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Charlestown

Charlestown and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Brothertownmostly inland floodingVery low

Charlestownmostly inland floodingVery low

Rantoulmostly inland floodingVery low

Eatonmostly inland floodingVery low

Schleswigmostly inland floodingVery low

Chiltonmostly inland floodingVery low

New Holsteinmostly 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. Charlestown 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 Charlestown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Charlestown. 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.