Natural hazards · Manitowoc Rapids

Manitowoc Rapids, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Manitowoc Rapids comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Manitowoc Rapids?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Manitowoc Rapids to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding55%Cold waves16%Tornadoes10%Hail10%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Manitowoc Rapids faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

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

Hail

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Manitowoc Rapids flood?

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

7paid claims since 1979

$82Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 2 claims, $36K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Manitowoc Rapids 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 Manitowoc Rapids

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Manitowoc RapidsDeclared for Manitowoc County only

2000

Snow

$2K to the Town of Manitowoc Rapids for repairs

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

Around Manitowoc Rapids

Manitowoc Rapids and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Manitowoc Rapidsmostly inland floodingLow

Manitowocmostly inland floodingLow

Kossuthmostly inland floodingLow

Catomostly inland floodingVery low

Newtonmostly 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. Manitowoc Rapids covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Manitowoc Rapids’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Manitowoc Rapids. 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 Manitowoc Rapids total about $2.5M 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.