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Natural hazards · Portland

Portland, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Portland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Portland?

23
Low
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding46%Cold waves18%Tornadoes17%Hail8%Everything else12%
By hazard

What Portland faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

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 Portland flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Portland isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dodge County.
Disasters that hit Portland

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PortlandDeclared for Dodge County only
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$414K to the Town of Portland for repairs
2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$36K to the Town of Portland for repairs
Dodge County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Around Portland

Portland and the towns around it

York: Low, mostly inland floodingElba: Low, mostly inland floodingWaterloo: Low, mostly inland floodingLowell: Low, mostly inland floodingShields: Very low, mostly inland floodingWaterloo: Low, mostly inland floodingColumbus: High, mostly hailMedina: Low, mostly inland floodingBristol: Low, mostly inland floodingHampden: High, mostly hailColumbus: High, mostly hailFountain Prairie: High, mostly hailCalamus: Low, mostly inland floodingMilford: Low, mostly inland floodingLake Mills: Low, mostly inland floodingBeaver Dam: Very low, mostly inland floodingClyman: Very low, mostly inland floodingOak Grove: Very low, mostly inland floodingEmmet: Very low, mostly inland floodingWatertown: Low, mostly inland floodingPortland: Low, mostly inland flooding PortlandYorkElbaWaterlooLowellShieldsWaterloo
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Waterloomostly inland floodingLow
Waterloomostly inland floodingLow
Portlandmostly inland floodingLow
Elbamostly inland floodingLow
Lowellmostly inland floodingLow
Yorkmostly inland floodingLow
Shieldsmostly 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. Portland 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 Portland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Portland. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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