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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Pleasant Valley · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Pleasant Valley faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pleasant Valley gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns, #291 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%), then tornadoes (10%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 79%Tornadoes 10%Hail 6%

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 54%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#291 of 362 in Wisconsin
Hazard risk
B−#291 of 362
in Wisconsin · lower than 54% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
79% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 6 declared for Eau Claire County
By hazard

What Pleasant Valley 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

79%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 18 years in the area

Hail

6%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Earthquakes 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 23% of Pleasant Valley’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 Pleasant Valley’s grade

River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pleasant Valley, and Pleasant Valley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 4%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Pleasant Valley sits
Pleasant Valley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− #291 of 362 in Wisconsin; lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding79%Tornadoes10%Hail6%Everything else5%

The typical Wisconsin town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Pleasant Valley has more expected damage per building than 80% of Wisconsin towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Pleasant Valley: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Pleasant Valley’s 3,791 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Brunswick town (1,958 residents) and Drammen town (792 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 Pleasant Valley flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Eau Claire County.
Disasters

The storms Pleasant Valley remembers

None of the 6 disasters declared for Eau Claire County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pleasant Valley itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Pleasant ValleyEau Claire County only

Eau Claire County has had 6 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.

Next door

Pleasant Valley and its neighbors

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

Clear Creek: not gradedDrammen: not gradedWashington: hazard risk BAlbion: not gradedBrunswick: hazard risk B−Clear CreekDrammenWashingtonAlbionBrunswickPleasant Valley
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WashingtonBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding—
BrunswickB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding—
Pleasant ValleyB−less damage than 54%river and rain flooding0
Clear Creek—880 residents; we grade 1,000+
Drammen—681 residents; we grade 1,000+
Albion—710 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 Pleasant Valley 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 Pleasant Valley

Is Pleasant Valley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pleasant Valley has lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #291 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) 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.

Is Pleasant Valley 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 Eau Claire County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Pleasant Valley?

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

Is Pleasant Valley at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Pleasant Valley’s rate for it is higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pleasant Valley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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