Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Wescott 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, Wescott gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns, #315 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). 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
What Wescott 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
Tornadoes
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.
What’s behind Wescott’s grade
River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wescott, and Wescott’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 9% (higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts).
C+ #315 of 362 in Wisconsin; higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Wescott’s residents live in 5 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Wisconsin town has lower expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Wescott has more expected damage per building than 87% of Wisconsin towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.4M a year in losses across Wescott: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Wescott flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wescott. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Wescott isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Shawano County.The storms Wescott remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Shawano County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Wescott itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Shawano County has had 5 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.
Wescott and its neighbors
Wescott is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menominee | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Richmond | Bless damage than 65% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Shawano | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Wescott | C+more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Washington | C+more damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Legend Lake | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Keshena | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
| Underhill | — | 688 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.
Get ready for what Wescott faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Wescott
Is Wescott at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wescott has higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #315 of 362 in Wisconsin. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and tornadoes (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Wescott 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 Shawano County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Wescott?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wescott’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Wescott at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Wescott’s rate for it is higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wescott.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wescott’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.