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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bloomer · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Bloomer than in 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bloomer gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, #222 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%), then tornadoes (10%). Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 80%Tornadoes 10%Hail 4%

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

less than 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#222 of 362 in Wisconsin
Hazard risk
B+#222 of 362
in Wisconsin · lower than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
80% of expected building damage
Flood claims
4
paid since 1979 · $4K
Flood claims per home
2 per 1,000
fewer than 57% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Bloomer 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

80%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Tornadoes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hail Strong wind Lightning Winter storms Earthquakes Wildfire Ice storms 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 27% of Bloomer’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 Bloomer’s grade

River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bloomer, and Bloomer’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 10% (higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Bloomer sits
Bloomer
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #222 of 362 in Wisconsin; lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding80%Tornadoes10%Hail4%Everything else5%

The typical Wisconsin town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bloomer has more expected damage per building than 61% of Wisconsin towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Bloomer: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bloomer’s 3,683 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Woodmohr town (1,004 residents) and Cooks Valley town (757 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 Bloomer flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bloomer, from FEMA’s records: 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 57% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 3 claims1980: 1 claim1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims19791980
19792026
4
paid claims since 1979
$4K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$913
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Chippewa County.
Disasters

The storms Bloomer remembers

None of the 8 disasters declared for Chippewa County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bloomer itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19793 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 19801 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Chippewa County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BloomerChippewa County only

Chippewa 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Bloomer after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bloomer archive →
Next door

Bloomer and its neighbors

Bloomer is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Woodmohr: hazard risk B+WoodmohrBloomer
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WoodmohrB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding4
BloomerB+less damage than 72%river and rain flooding4

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 Bloomer 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 Bloomer

Is Bloomer at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bloomer has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #222 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) 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.

Does Bloomer flood?

Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Bloomer since 1979, $4K in all, or 2.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 57% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Bloomer 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 Chippewa County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Bloomer?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bloomer’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Bloomer at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Bloomer’s rate for it is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bloomer.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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