Natural hazards · Poplar

Poplar, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Poplar comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Poplar?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Poplar to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves56%Inland flooding34%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Poplar faces

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

Cold waves

56% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

HurricanesEarthquakesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Poplar flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Douglas County.

Disasters that hit Poplar

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PoplarDeclared for Douglas County only

2018

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$84K to the Village of Poplar for repairs

2012

Severe Storms and Flooding

$39K to the Village of Poplar for repairs

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$6K to the Village of Poplar for repairs

1999

Wi-Flood-07/20/99

$19K to the Village of Poplar for repairs

Douglas County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Poplar

Poplar and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Maplemostly cold wavesVery low

Poplarmostly cold wavesVery low

Amniconmostly cold wavesVery 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. Poplar 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 Poplar’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Poplar. 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.