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Church of Sts. Joseph and Mary-CatholicChurch of Sts. Joseph and Mary-Catholic · Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domain
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Perch Lake Township · FEMA

Less hazard damage per building is expected in Perch Lake Township than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Perch Lake Township gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 92%Tornadoes 3%Hail 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 69%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 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
1
of 6 declared for Carlton County
By hazard

What Perch Lake Township 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

92%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Ice storms Lightning top 4% Wildfire Strong wind Winter storms Earthquakes 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 62% of Perch Lake Township’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 Perch Lake Township’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Perch Lake Township, and Perch Lake Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Perch Lake Township sits
Perch Lake Township
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Tornadoes3%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $771K a year in losses across Perch Lake Township: $245K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Perch Lake Township’s 977 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Big Lake CDP (464 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 township’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 Perch Lake Township flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Perch Lake Township. 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

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

Insurance rates: Carlton County.
Disasters

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Perch Lake Township

Disasters that paid out in Perch Lake Township itself (aid to households or repair grants to Perch Lake Township), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2012Severe Storms and Flooding$3K to Perch Lake Township for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Perch Lake TownshipCarlton County only

Carlton County has had 6 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Perch Lake Township archive →
Next door

Perch Lake Township and its neighbors

Perch Lake Township has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Cloquet: hazard risk C+Stoney Brook Township: not gradedCloquetStoney Brook TownshipPerch Lake Township
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Perch Lake TownshipB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding0
CloquetC+more damage than 64%river and rain flooding1
Stoney Brook Township—302 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 Perch Lake Township 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 Perch Lake Township

Is Perch Lake Township at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Perch Lake Township has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Perch Lake Township 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 Carlton County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Perch Lake Township?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Perch Lake Township’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 Perch Lake Township?

By FEMA money that reached Perch Lake Township, Severe Storms and Flooding (2012): $3K to Perch Lake Township for repairs.

Is Perch Lake Township at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Perch Lake Township’s rate for it is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Perch Lake Township.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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