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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Rock Creek · FEMA

FEMA puts Rock Creek’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rock Creek gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 78% 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%Hail 5%Tornadoes 5%

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

more than 78%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Minnesota · higher than 78% 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 10 declared for Pine County
By hazard

What Rock Creek 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
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Tornadoes Strong wind Wildfire Ice storms Winter storms Lightning 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 26% of Rock Creek’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 Rock Creek’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rock Creek, and Rock Creek’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Rock Creek sits
Rock Creek
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Hail5%Tornadoes5%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Rock Creek: $844K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Rock Creek’s 1,682 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Chengwatana township (917 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 Rock Creek flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Pine County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rock Creek

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms and Flooding$10K to the City of Rock Creek for repairs
  2. 2018Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$26K to the City of Rock Creek for repairs
  3. 2001Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$1K to the City of Rock Creek for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Rock CreekPine County only

Pine County has had 10 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 Pine County, 2000–2000.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Rock Creek archive →
Next door

Rock Creek and its neighbors

Rock Creek has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Grantsburg: not gradedPine City Township: hazard risk C−Rushseba Township: not gradedRoyalton Township: hazard risk C−GrantsburgPine City TownshipRushseba TownshipRoyalton TownshipRock Creek
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Rock CreekC−more damage than 78%river and rain flooding0
Pine City TownshipC−more damage than 78%river and rain flooding—
Royalton TownshipC−more damage than 83%river and rain flooding—
Grantsburg—not graded yet
Rushseba Township—963 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 Rock Creek 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 Rock Creek

Is Rock Creek at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rock Creek has higher expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: C− 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 Rock Creek 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 Pine County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Rock Creek?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Rock Creek’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 Rock Creek?

By FEMA money that reached Rock Creek, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2018): $26K to the City of Rock Creek for repairs.

Is Rock Creek at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Rock Creek’s rate for it is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rock Creek.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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