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Natural hazards · Portage

Portage, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Portage comes from hail, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 38 claims here since 1983. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Portage?

81
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Portage to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail40%Inland flooding36%Cold waves11%Tornadoes7%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Portage faces

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

Hail

40% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

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 Portage flood?

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

38paid claims since 1983
$609Kpaid to owners
7homes flooded more than once
19832026

Biggest named events

  • Storm: 8 claims, $33K
  • March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 2 claims, $10K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Portage 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Portage

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PortageDeclared for Columbia County only
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

409 households applied for aid $428K aid approved $137K to the City of Portage for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $21K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

25 households applied for aid $31K aid approved
2000

Snow

$12K to the City of Portage for repairs
2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$4K to the City of Portage for repairs
Columbia County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Portage

Portage and the towns around it

Fort Winnebago: Very high, mostly inland floodingPacific: Very high, mostly inland floodingLewiston: High, mostly hailCaledonia: Very high, mostly inland floodingMarcellon: Very high, mostly hailDekorra: Very high, mostly inland floodingWyocena: Very high, mostly hailFairfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingDouglas: High, mostly inland floodingNewport: High, mostly hailNew Haven: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMoundville: High, mostly inland floodingGreenfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMerrimac: Very high, mostly inland floodingWest Point: Very high, mostly inland floodingPortage: Very high, mostly hail PortageFort WinnebagoPacificLewistonCaledonia
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Caledoniamostly inland floodingVery high
Fort Winnebagomostly inland floodingVery high
Pacificmostly inland floodingVery high
Portagemostly hailVery high
Lewistonmostly hailHigh
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. Portage covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Portage’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Portage. 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 Portage total about $3.5M 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.

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