Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Day

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Day Wisconsin Town hall by RozellvillePhoto: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 4.0
CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Day · FEMA

FEMA puts Day’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Day gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

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

more than 67%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Day 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

87%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Tornadoes

7%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Lightning top 0% Strong wind Wildfire Earthquakes Winter storms 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 24% of Day’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 Day’s grade

River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Day, and Day’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Lightning adds 2%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Day sits
Day
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding87%Tornadoes7%Hail4%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $892K a year in losses across Day: $617K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Day’s 1,063 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Knowlton town (1,984 residents) and Emmet town (905 residents) and Bergen town (740 residents) and Green Valley town (515 residents) and Guenther town (358 residents) and Knowlton CDP (94 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 Day flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Marathon County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Day

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

  1. 2010Severe Storms and Flooding$25K to the Town of Day for repairs
  2. 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$98K to the Town of Day for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in DayMarathon County only

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

Add to the Day archive →
Next door

Day and its neighbors

Day is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
McMillanB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding—
ClevelandBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding—
DayCmore damage than 67%river and rain flooding0
Auburndale—797 residents; we grade 1,000+
Green Valley—525 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 Day 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 Day

Is Day at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Day has higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and tornadoes (7%). 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 Day 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 Marathon County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Day?

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

By FEMA money that reached Day, Severe Storms and Flooding (2002): $98K to the Town of Day for repairs.

Is Day at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Day’s rate for it is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Day.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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