TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
RioGood night
Natural hazards · Rio

Rio, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rio comes from hail, and overall the risk is high 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 Rio?

76
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rio to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail46%Inland flooding25%Cold waves12%Tornadoes9%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Rio faces

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

Hail

46% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 12 years 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 Rio flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Rio 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.
Disasters that hit Rio

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RioDeclared for Columbia County only
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

95 households applied for aid $156K aid approved
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $7K aid approved
2000

Snow

$972 to the Village of Rio for repairs
Columbia County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Rio

Rio and the towns around it

Lowville: High, mostly hailOtsego: High, mostly hailWyocena: Very high, mostly hailSpringvale: High, mostly hailDekorra: Very high, mostly inland floodingLeeds: High, mostly hailDoylestown: High, mostly hailFountain Prairie: High, mostly hailMarcellon: Very high, mostly hailPacific: Very high, mostly inland floodingScott: High, mostly hailCourtland: High, mostly hailRandolph: High, mostly hailRio: High, mostly hail RioLowvilleOtsegoWyocenaSpringvale
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Wyocenamostly hailVery high
Riomostly hailHigh
Lowvillemostly hailHigh
Otsegomostly hailHigh
Springvalemostly 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. Rio 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 Rio’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Rio. 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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Rio, WIView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Rio is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map