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Risk & Response

Wadena County, MN

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 68.3 Relatively High

14,256
Population
4
Departments
4
Stations
3
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.08
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
77th highest of 87
Life Safety per 100k
0.59
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
72nd highest of 87
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$3.6M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
75th highest of 87
Property Loss per Resident
$256
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
78th highest of 87

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Wadena County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 53% of the life-safety total.

Wadena County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $3.6M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 87 Minnesota counties. Nationally, Wadena County ranks 2737th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2391st for life safety per 100k residents, 2547th for property loss, and 2252nd for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Wadena County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Wadena County.

Talk to us about Wadena County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

71%
22%
Property (buildings): $3.6M (71.1%)
Life safety: $1.2M (22.4%)
Agriculture: $335K (6.5%)

Total expected annual loss: $5,135,798 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Agriculture is 7% of expected annual loss in Wadena County, so total loss overstates property loss here. The property figure above counts building loss only.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$607K
Strong Wind
$250K
Lightning
$93K
Tornado
$76K
Heat Wave
$48K
Winter Weather
$47K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$3.0M
Tornado
$409K
Wildfire
$104K
Strong Wind
$76K
Winter Weather
$48K
Hail
$15K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Wadena County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

100%
Unreported: 100% (4)
Residents per Station
3,564
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
28.1
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 4 departments registered in NERIS Public for Wadena County, MN. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Wadena County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 4 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Sebeka Fire And Rescue 11,828 $1.1M Relatively High 1
Staples Fire Department 5,623 $398.4K Relatively Moderate 1
Menahga Fire Department 3,498 $285.0K Relatively Moderate 1
Verndale Fire Department 1,849 $146.6K Relatively High 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

12.5%
Poverty Rate
20.2%
Age 65+
15.3%
Disability Rate
5.5%
Uninsured
58.4%
Pre-1980 Housing
6.9%
Mobile Homes
13.4%
Vacancy Rate
10.7%
Wood Heat
$62,466
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

4
Last 10 Years
8
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo