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Water tower, Menahga, Minnesota-02Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Menahga · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Menahga faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Menahga gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 84%Tornadoes 9%Wildfire 4%

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 52%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 52% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
84% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 11 declared for Wadena County
By hazard

What Menahga 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

84%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Strong wind Winter storms top 4% Hail Lightning Earthquakes Ice storms Cold waves Heat 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 11% of Menahga’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 Menahga’s grade

River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Menahga, and Menahga’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 4%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Menahga sits
Menahga
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding84%Tornadoes9%Wildfire4%Everything else3%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $539K a year in losses across Menahga: $396K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Menahga’s 1,340 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Blueberry township (828 residents) and Shell River township (287 residents) and Meadow township (216 residents) and Huntersville township (101 residents) and Nimrod city (84 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 Menahga flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Menahga. 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

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

Insurance rates: Wadena County.
Disasters

The storms Menahga remembers

None of the 11 disasters declared for Wadena County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Menahga itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MenahgaWadena County only

Wadena County has had 11 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Menahga 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 ↗
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 Menahga

Is Menahga at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Menahga has lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and tornadoes (9%). 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 Menahga 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 Wadena County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Menahga?

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

Is Menahga at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Menahga’s rate for it is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Menahga.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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