Photo: The original uploader was Nationalparks at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5Storms, floods and disasters in Bayfield
Bayfield isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bayfield has 565 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1978.
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
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.
Does Bayfield flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bayfield, from FEMA’s records.
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.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bayfield
Disasters that paid out in Bayfield itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Bayfield), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2013Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides$5K to the City of Bayfield for repairs
- 2001Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes$14K to the City of Bayfield for repairs
- 1999Wi-flood-07/20/99$11K to the City of Bayfield for repairs
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.
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 →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.
- 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.
- 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 Bayfield
Does Bayfield flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Bayfield since 1978, $1K in all.
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): $14K to the City of Bayfield for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bayfield.
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.