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Natural hazards · Sumpter

Sumpter, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sumpter comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2000. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Sumpter?

80
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sumpter to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Cold waves11%Tornadoes9%Hail5%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Sumpter faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% 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 Sumpter flood?

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

7paid claims since 2000
$51Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20002026

Biggest named events

  • Storm: 1 claim, $713
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Sumpter isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sauk County.
Disasters that hit Sumpter

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SumpterDeclared for Sauk County only
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$93K to the Town of Sumpter for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$24K to the Town of Sumpter for repairs
2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$54K to the Town of Sumpter for repairs
Sauk County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Sumpter

Sumpter and the towns around it

Merrimac: Very high, mostly inland floodingBaraboo: Low, mostly inland floodingPrairie du Sac: High, mostly inland floodingHoney Creek: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFreedom: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMerrimac: Very high, mostly inland floodingWest Point: Very high, mostly inland floodingGreenfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCaledonia: Very high, mostly inland floodingBaraboo: Low, mostly inland floodingWest Baraboo: Low, mostly inland floodingDelton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingExcelsior: High, mostly inland floodingFairfield: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMazomanie: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPrairie du Sac: High, mostly inland floodingSauk City: High, mostly inland floodingTroy: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFranklin: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Freedom: High, mostly inland floodingWestfield: High, mostly inland floodingSumpter: Very high, mostly inland flooding SumpterMerrimacBarabooPrairie du SacHoney CreekFreedom
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Sumptermostly inland floodingVery high
Merrimacmostly inland floodingVery high
Prairie du Sacmostly inland floodingHigh
Honey Creekmostly inland floodingModerate
Freedommostly inland floodingModerate
Baraboomostly 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. Sumpter covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sumpter’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sumpter. 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 Sumpter total about $3.0M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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