Natural hazards · Ripon

Ripon, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ripon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2003. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ripon?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ripon to be higher than in 21% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding39%Cold waves24%Tornadoes20%Hail7%Strong wind5%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Ripon faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 88 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Ripon flood?

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

2paid claims since 2003

$56Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20032026

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. Ripon isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Fond du Lac County.

Disasters that hit Ripon

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RiponDeclared for Fond du Lac County only

2018

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides

$15K to the City of Ripon for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

107 households applied for aid $131K aid approved $56K to the City of Ripon for repairs

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

36 households applied for aid $48K aid approved

Fond du Lac County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Ripon

Ripon and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Riponmostly inland floodingLow

Riponmostly 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. Ripon covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ripon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ripon. 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 Ripon total about $2.2M 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.