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Natural hazards · Columbus

Columbus, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Columbus comes from hail, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1993. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Columbus?

76
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Columbus to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail46%Inland flooding24%Cold waves13%Tornadoes9%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Columbus faces

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

Hail

46% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 78 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Columbus flood?

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

15paid claims since 1993
$241Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19932026

Biggest named events

  • March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 8 claims, $168K
  • Storm: 2 claims, $31K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Columbus isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbia County.
Disasters that hit Columbus

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColumbusDeclared for Columbia County only
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

360 households applied for aid $655K aid approved $149K to the City of Columbus for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

38 households applied for aid $35K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $12K to the City of Columbus for repairs
2000

Snow

$8K to the City of Columbus for repairs
2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$14K to the City of Columbus for repairs
Columbia County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Columbus

Columbus and the towns around it

Columbus: High, mostly hailElba: Low, mostly inland floodingYork: Low, mostly inland floodingHampden: High, mostly hailFountain Prairie: High, mostly hailPortland: Low, mostly inland floodingLowell: Low, mostly inland floodingCalamus: Low, mostly inland floodingColumbus: High, mostly hail ColumbusColumbusElba
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Columbusmostly hailHigh
Columbusmostly hailHigh
Elbamostly 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. Columbus covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Columbus’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Columbus. 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 Columbus total about $4.0M 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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