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Main Street, Blooming Prairie, MNPhoto: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Blooming Prairie · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Blooming Prairie than in 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Blooming Prairie gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%), then tornadoes (21%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 56%Tornadoes 21%Strong wind 13%

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 68%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Minnesota · lower than 68% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
56% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
5
of 14 declared for Steele County
By hazard

What Blooming Prairie 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

56%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Tornadoes

21%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Strong wind

13%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Lightning top 4% Winter storms Earthquakes Wildfire Ice storms Heat waves top 3% Cold waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 10% of Blooming Prairie’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Blooming Prairie’s grade

River and rain flooding is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Blooming Prairie, and Blooming Prairie’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 21%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Blooming Prairie sits
Blooming Prairie
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding56%Tornadoes21%Strong wind13%Everything else9%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Blooming Prairie: $806K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Blooming Prairie’s 1,974 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Ellendale city (676 residents) and Summit township (433 residents) and Blooming Prairie township (397 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Blooming Prairie flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Steele County.
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Blooming Prairie

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

  1. 2024Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$6K aid approved$21K to the City of Blooming Prairie for repairs
  2. 2016Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
  3. 2010Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$2K to the City of Blooming Prairie for repairs
  4. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  5. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding184 households applied for aid$472K aid approved$15K to the City of Blooming Prairie for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Blooming PrairieSteele County only

Steele County has had 14 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Blooming Prairie archive →
Next door

Blooming Prairie and its neighbors

Blooming Prairie has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Blooming Prairie Township: not gradedWestfield Township: not gradedBlooming Prairie TownshipWestfield TownshipBlooming Prairie
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Blooming PrairieB+less damage than 68%river and rain flooding0
Blooming Prairie Township—454 residents; we grade 1,000+
Westfield Township—425 residents; we grade 1,000+

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Blooming Prairie 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 ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
High winds
  • Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
  • Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
  • Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hail
  • Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
  • Stay away from windows while it falls.
  • Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
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 Blooming Prairie

Is Blooming Prairie at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Blooming Prairie has lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%) and tornadoes (21%). 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 Blooming Prairie 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 Steele County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Blooming Prairie?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Blooming Prairie’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 Blooming Prairie?

By FEMA money that reached Blooming Prairie, Severe Storms and Flooding (2004): 184 households applied for aid, $472K approved, and $15K to the City of Blooming Prairie for repairs.

Is Blooming Prairie at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Blooming Prairie’s rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Blooming Prairie.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Blooming Prairie’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.