TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
WestbyGood night
Natural hazards · Westby

Westby, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Westby comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Westby?

27
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Westby to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves49%Inland flooding29%Tornadoes8%Everything else13%
By hazard

What Westby faces

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

Cold waves

49% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 35 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Westby flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Westby isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Vernon County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Westby

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WestbyDeclared for Vernon County only
2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

238 households applied for aid $245K aid approved
2019

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

$11K to the City of Westby for repairs
2018

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

51 households applied for aid $106K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

71 households applied for aid $156K aid approved $65K to the City of Westby for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

141 households applied for aid $271K aid approved $18K to the City of Westby for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $10K aid approved
Vernon County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Westby

Westby and the towns around it

Christiana: Low, mostly cold wavesViroqua: Very low, mostly cold wavesCoon: High, mostly inland floodingClinton: High, mostly inland floodingPortland: Moderate, mostly inland floodingViroqua: Very low, mostly cold wavesJefferson: High, mostly inland floodingFranklin: High, mostly inland floodingWebster: High, mostly inland floodingLiberty: High, mostly inland floodingKickapoo: High, mostly inland floodingWestby: Low, mostly cold waves WestbyChristianaViroqua
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Westbymostly cold wavesLow
Christianamostly cold wavesLow
Viroquamostly 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. Westby 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 Westby’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Westby. 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 Westby, WIView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Westby 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