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BayfieldwiPhoto: The original uploader was Nationalparks at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Bayfield · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Bayfield

Bayfield isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bayfield has 709 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.

Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
4
of 9 declared for Bayfield County
By hazard

What Bayfield 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

93%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 92% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Hail Tornadoes Winter storms Lightning Coastal flooding Ice storms Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
HurricanesEarthquakesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 60% of Bayfield’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), 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.
Flood insurance claims

Does Bayfield flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Bayfield County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bayfield

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

  1. 2013Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides$12K to the Town of Bayfield for repairs
  2. 2012Severe Storms and Flooding$30K to the Town of Bayfield for repairs
  3. 2001Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes$38K to the Town of Bayfield for repairs
  4. 1999Wi-flood-07/20/99$4K to the Town of Bayfield for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BayfieldBayfield County only

Bayfield County has had 9 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 Bayfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bayfield archive →
Next door

Bayfield and its neighbors

How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Russell: hazard risk A+Bell: not gradedBayview: not gradedRussellBellBayviewBayfield
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RussellA+among the lowest damageriver and rain flooding1
Bell—345 residents; we grade 1,000+
Bayview—615 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 Bayfield 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 Bayfield

Is Bayfield 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 Bayfield County, 5% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Bayfield?

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

By FEMA money that reached Bayfield, Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes (2001): $38K to the Town of Bayfield for repairs.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bayfield.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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