Natural hazards · Cornell

Cornell, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cornell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1997. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cornell?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cornell to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding42%Cold waves33%Tornadoes11%Strong wind6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Cornell faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

33% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 26 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cornell flood?

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

1paid claims since 1997

$283paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chippewa County.

Disasters that hit Cornell

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CornellDeclared for Chippewa County only

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$3K to the City of Cornell for repairs

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

Around Cornell

Cornell and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Clevelandmostly inland floodingModerate

Cornellmostly inland floodingLow

Estellamostly 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. Cornell 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 Cornell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cornell. 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.