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Aurora MN co hwy 100 IMG 1498Photo: Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Aurora · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Aurora than in 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aurora gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 88%Winter storms 4%Tornadoes 3%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

less than 97%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A+
in Minnesota · lower than 97% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 13 declared for St. Louis County
By hazard

What Aurora faces

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

River and rain flooding

88%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Winter storms top 1% Tornadoes Hail Wildfire Lightning Ice storms Strong wind Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesEarthquakesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 75% of Aurora’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Aurora’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Aurora, and Aurora’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Aurora sits
Aurora
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Aurora’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Winter storms4%Tornadoes3%Everything else4%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.5M a year in losses across Aurora: $256K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Aurora’s 1,678 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Aurora flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Aurora. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: St. Louis County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Aurora

Disasters that paid out in Aurora itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Aurora), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Severe Storms and Flooding20 households applied for aid$100K aid approved$49K to the City of Aurora for repairs
  2. 2012Severe Storms and Flooding$29K to the City of Aurora for repairs
  3. 1999Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding$171K to the City of Aurora for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AuroraSt. Louis County only

St. Louis County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in St. Louis County, 2025–2025.

Were you here?

Old photos of Aurora after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Aurora archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Aurora faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Aurora

Is Aurora at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aurora has lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Aurora in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In St. Louis County, 0.3% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Aurora?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Aurora’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Aurora?

By FEMA money that reached Aurora, Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding (1999): $171K to the City of Aurora for repairs.

Is Aurora at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Aurora’s rate for it is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Aurora.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Aurora’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.