Natural hazards · Sarona

Sarona, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sarona comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very 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 Sarona?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sarona to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves45%Inland flooding33%Tornadoes9%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Sarona faces

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

Cold waves

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 26 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Sarona flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washburn County.

Disasters that hit Sarona

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SaronaDeclared for Washburn County only

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$12K to the Town of Sarona for repairs

2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$7K to the Town of Sarona for repairs

Washburn County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

Around Sarona

Sarona and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Saronamostly cold wavesVery low

Beaver Brookmostly cold wavesVery low

Long Lakemostly cold wavesVery low

Bear Lakemostly cold wavesVery low

Barronettmostly 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. Sarona 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 Sarona’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sarona. 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.