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Risk & Response

Waseca County, MN

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 63.3 Relatively High

18,885
Population
5
Departments
6
Stations
5
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
0.16
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
63rd highest of 87
Life Safety per 100k
0.85
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
56th highest of 87
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$5.1M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
64th highest of 87
Property Loss per Resident
$269
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
72nd 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 Waseca County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 71% of the life-safety total.

Waseca County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $5.1M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 87 Minnesota counties. Nationally, Waseca County ranks 2208th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 1981st for life safety per 100k residents, 2224th for property loss, and 2117th 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 Waseca 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 Waseca County.

Talk to us about Waseca County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

57%
25%
19%
Property (buildings): $5.1M (56.6%)
Life safety: $2.2M (24.5%)
Agriculture: $1.7M (18.8%)

Total expected annual loss: $8,962,736 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 19% of expected annual loss in Waseca 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
$1.6M
Tornado
$235K
Strong Wind
$223K
Winter Weather
$76K
Heat Wave
$56K
Lightning
$21K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$3.0M
Tornado
$951K
Strong Wind
$689K
Hail
$372K
Lightning
$12K
Winter Weather
$11K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Waseca 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

20%
80%
Combination: 20% (1)
Unreported: 80% (4)
Residents per Station
3,148
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
31.8
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 5 departments registered in NERIS Public for Waseca 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 Waseca 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 5 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Pemberton Fire Department 12,885 $2.0M Relatively High 1
Waseca Fire Department 16,320 $1.9M Relatively High 2
New Richland Fire Department 8,414 $1.0M Relatively High 1
Waldorf Fire Department 5,713 $659.1K Relatively High 1
Janesville Fire Department 3,451 $405.3K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

7.5%
Poverty Rate
19.1%
Age 65+
11.7%
Disability Rate
3.6%
Uninsured
70.4%
Pre-1980 Housing
2.5%
Mobile Homes
5.6%
Vacancy Rate
2.1%
Wood Heat
$74,873
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

5
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