Natural hazards · Sumner

Sumner, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sumner comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 230 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sumner?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sumner to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding66%Tornadoes12%Cold waves10%Hail5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Sumner faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 24 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% 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 Sumner flood?

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

230paid claims since 1979

$6.2Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Storm: 19 claims, $1.2M
March 2019 Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $10K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Sumner

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SumnerDeclared for Jefferson County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

Jefferson County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Sumner

Sumner and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Sumnermostly inland floodingHigh

Koshkonongmostly inland floodingModerate

Albionmostly inland floodingLow

Oaklandmostly inland floodingLow

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. Sumner covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sumner’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sumner. 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 Sumner total about $1.6M 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.