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AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Cedar Lake · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Cedar Lake faces less hazard damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cedar Lake gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then tornadoes (13%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 72%Tornadoes 13%Hail 10%

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 88%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A
in Wisconsin · lower than 88% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
72% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 7 declared for Barron County
By hazard

What Cedar Lake 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

72%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

13%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts

Hail

10%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Wildfire Earthquakes 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 38% of Cedar Lake’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 Cedar Lake’s grade

River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cedar Lake, and Cedar Lake’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 13% (higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Cedar Lake sits
Cedar Lake
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding72%Tornadoes13%Hail10%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $639K a year in losses across Cedar Lake: $312K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Cedar Lake’s 1,076 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Oak Grove town (960 residents) and Bear Lake town (670 residents) and Haugen village (266 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 Cedar Lake flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Barron County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cedar Lake

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

  1. 2001Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes$13K to the Town of Cedar Lake for repairs
  2. 2000Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$18K to the Town of Cedar Lake for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Cedar LakeBarron County only

Barron County has had 7 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 Cedar Lake after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Cedar Lake archive →
Next door

Cedar Lake and its neighbors

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

Birchwood: not gradedWilson: not gradedOak Grove: not gradedDoyle: not gradedBirchwoodWilsonOak GroveDoyleCedar Lake
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Cedar LakeAless damage than 88%river and rain flooding0
Birchwood—660 residents; we grade 1,000+
Wilson—151 residents; we grade 1,000+
Oak Grove—964 residents; we grade 1,000+
Doyle—712 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 Cedar Lake 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 ↗
Hail
  • Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
  • Stay away from windows while it falls.
  • Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
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 Cedar Lake

Is Cedar Lake at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cedar Lake has lower expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and tornadoes (13%). 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.

Is Cedar Lake 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 Barron County, 12% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Cedar Lake?

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

By FEMA money that reached Cedar Lake, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2000): $18K to the Town of Cedar Lake for repairs.

Is Cedar Lake at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Cedar Lake’s rate for it is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cedar Lake.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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