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Tower AvenuePhoto: Nfarmakes · CC BY-SA 4.0
BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Superior · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Superior 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, Superior gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #284 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2020.

River and rain flooding 96%Hail 2%Tornadoes 1%

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 56%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#284 of 362 in Wisconsin
Hazard risk
B#284 of 362
in Wisconsin · lower than 56% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
96% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2020 · $2K
Disasters paid out here
5
of 7 declared for Douglas County
By hazard

What Superior 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

96%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Coastal flooding Earthquakes Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
HurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 47% of Superior’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 Superior’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Superior, and Superior’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Superior sits
Superior
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B #284 of 362 in Wisconsin; lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Superior’s residents live in 10 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding96%Everything else4%

The typical Wisconsin town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Superior has more expected damage per building than 78% of Wisconsin towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $15.7M a year in losses across Superior: $7.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A firm figure. It combines 10 census tracts by where Superior’s residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Superior flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2020

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Superior, from FEMA’s records: 0.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 99% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2020: 1 claim2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2020
20202026
1
paid claims since 2020
$2K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$2K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Douglas County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
4flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1building floodproofed
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Superior

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

  1. 2018Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$26K to the City of Superior for repairs
  2. 2016Severe Storms and Flooding$322K to the City of Superior for repairs
  3. 2012Severe Storms and Flooding$2.0M to the City of Superior for repairs
  4. 2001Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes$25K to the City of Superior for repairs
  5. 1999Wi-flood-07/20/99$148K to the City of Superior for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SuperiorDouglas County only

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

Add to the Superior archive →
Next door

Superior and its neighbors

Superior is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Duluth: hazard risk B+Parkland: hazard risk A−Superior: hazard risk A−DuluthParklandSuperiorSuperior
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ParklandA−less damage than 84%river and rain flooding—
SuperiorA−less damage than 81%river and rain flooding4
DuluthB+less damage than 73%river and rain flooding58
SuperiorBless damage than 56%river and rain flooding1

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 Superior 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 ↗
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 Superior

Is Superior at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Superior has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #284 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Superior flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Superior since 2020, $2K in all, or 0.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 99% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Superior 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 Douglas County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Superior?

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

By FEMA money that reached Superior, Severe Storms and Flooding (2012): $2.0M to the City of Superior for repairs.

Is Superior at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Superior’s rate for it is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Superior.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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