Natural hazards · Rice Lake

Rice Lake, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rice Lake comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2005. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rice Lake?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rice Lake to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves42%Inland flooding28%Tornadoes12%Hail6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Rice Lake faces

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

Cold waves

42% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 9% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Rice Lake flood?

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

1paid claims since 2005

$13Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20052026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Barron County.

Disasters that hit Rice Lake

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Rice LakeDeclared for Barron County only

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$16K to the City of Rice Lake for repairs

2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$3K to the City of Rice Lake for repairs

Barron County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and tornadoes.

Around Rice Lake

Rice Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Stanleymostly cold wavesLow

Rice Lakemostly 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. Rice Lake covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rice Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rice Lake. 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 Rice Lake total about $3.9M 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.