Natural hazards · Forest

Forest, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Forest comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Forest?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Forest to be higher than in 4% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding41%Tornadoes21%Cold waves20%Hail9%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Forest faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 5% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 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 Forest flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Fond du Lac County.

Disasters that hit Forest

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ForestDeclared for Fond du Lac County only

2018

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides

$27K to the Town of Forest for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$27K to the Town of Forest for repairs

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$1K to the Town of Forest for repairs

Fond du Lac County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Forest

Forest and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Empiremostly inland floodingVery low

Greenbushmostly inland floodingVery low

Osceolamostly inland floodingVery low

Forestmostly inland floodingVery low

Marshfieldmostly 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. Forest 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 Forest’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Forest. 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.