Storms, floods and disasters in Rolette
Rolette isn’t graded for hazard risk: Rolette has 363 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Rolette faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
Ice storms
Winter storms
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); winter storms is FEMA’s “Winter Weather” (snow, sleet and freezing rain). 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.
Does Rolette flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Rolette. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Rolette isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rolette County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rolette
Disasters that paid out in Rolette itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Rolette), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding12 households applied for aid$783 aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$873 to the City of Rolette for repairs
- 2001Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$836 to the City of Rolette for repairs
- 1999Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow, Ice, Ground Saturation, Lanslides, Mudslides, and Tor$33K to the City of Rolette for repairs
Rolette County has had 22 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.
Old photos of Rolette after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Rolette archive →Get ready for what Rolette faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- 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 Rolette
Is Rolette 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 Rolette County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Rolette?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Rolette’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 Rolette?
By FEMA money that reached Rolette, Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow, Ice, Ground Saturation, Lanslides, Mudslides, and Tor (1999): $33K to the City of Rolette for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rolette.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Rolette’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.