Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY 2.0For strong wind, Shafer’s building-damage rate is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Shafer gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Shafer 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
Tornadoes
Strong wind
Hail
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.
What’s behind Shafer’s grade
River and rain flooding is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Shafer, and Shafer’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 57% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 8%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Shafer’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $477K a year in losses across Shafer: $352K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Shafer flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Shafer. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Shafer isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Chisago County.The storms Shafer remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Chisago County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Shafer itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Chisago County has had 8 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 Chisago County, 2000–2000.
Shafer and its neighbors
Shafer has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shafer | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Franconia Township | B−more damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Shafer Township | — | not graded yet | |
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.
Get ready for what Shafer faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Shafer
Is Shafer at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Shafer has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%) and tornadoes (10%). 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 Shafer 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 Chisago County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Shafer?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Shafer’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Shafer at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Shafer’s rate for it is higher than 57% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Shafer.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Shafer’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.