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2009-0528-MN-SpringValley-downtownPhoto: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Spring Valley · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Spring Valley faces more hazard damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spring Valley gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%), then tornadoes (14%). Flood insurance has paid 30 claims here since 2000.

River and rain flooding 82%Tornadoes 14%Hail 2%

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 63%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 63% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
82% of expected building damage
Flood claims
30
paid since 2000 · $228K
Flooded more than once
5
properties · 1 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
3
of 15 declared for Fillmore County

What stands out about Spring Valley’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Moved out of harm’s way9 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.Remembers 200012 flood claims were paid for 2000 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Spring Valley 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

82%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

14%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 18 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Strong wind Lightning top 5% Winter storms Earthquakes Ice storms Wildfire 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 14% of Spring Valley’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 Spring Valley’s grade

River and rain flooding is 82% of the building damage FEMA expects in Spring Valley, and Spring Valley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 14%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Spring Valley sits
Spring Valley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding82%Tornadoes14%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Spring Valley: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Spring Valley’s 2,447 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Bloomfield township (324 residents) and Ostrander city (231 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 Spring Valley flood? Sometimes: 30 flood claims since 2000

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Spring Valley, from FEMA’s records: 27.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2000: 12 claims2001: 7 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 7 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 1 claim2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200020012013
20002026
Biggest named events
  • The Severe flooding6 claims · $39K
  • The June Midwest Flooding1 claim · $14K
30
paid claims since 2000
$228K
paid to owners
5
homes flooded more than once
$8K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Fillmore County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
9flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Spring Valley

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

  1. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding12 households applied for aid$36K aid approved
  2. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$236 aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
  3. 2000Severe Storms and Flooding$46K to the City of Spring Valley for repairs12 flood claims paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Spring ValleyFillmore County only

Fillmore County has had 15 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 Spring Valley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Spring Valley archive →
Next door

Spring Valley and its neighbors

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

Spring Valley Township: not gradedSpring Valley TownshipSpring Valley
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Spring ValleyC+more damage than 63%river and rain flooding30
Spring Valley Township—564 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 Spring Valley 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 Spring Valley

Is Spring Valley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spring Valley has higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (82%) and tornadoes (14%). 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.

Does Spring Valley flood?

Flood insurance has paid 30 claims in Spring Valley since 2000, $228K in all, or 27.4 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 5 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Severe flooding (6).

Is Spring Valley 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 Fillmore County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Spring Valley?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Spring Valley’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 Spring Valley?

By FEMA money that reached Spring Valley, Severe Storms and Flooding (2000): $46K to the City of Spring Valley for repairs. By flood claims, Severe flooding: 6 paid, $39K.

Is Spring Valley at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (82%), and Spring Valley’s rate for it is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Spring Valley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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