North Dakota Natural Disaster Risk by County
Of North Dakota's 53 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Burleigh County (score 85.1 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $565 million a year.
OpenFEMA lists 73 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for North Dakota since 1957 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4934-ND, Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, declared 1 September 2026.
Live weather alerts for North Dakota Latest FEMA declarations All official warnings
Most exposed counties, hazard by hazard
Top 10 by FEMA hazard risk scoreTornado 53 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cass County | Relatively Moderate | $12 million |
| 2 | Burleigh County | Relatively Moderate | $6.0 million |
| 3 | Ward County | Relatively Moderate | $3.4 million |
| 4 | Grand Forks County | Relatively Low | $2.3 million |
| 5 | Morton County | Relatively Low | $2.5 million |
| 6 | Williams County | Relatively Low | $1.9 million |
| 7 | Richland County | Relatively Low | $1.4 million |
| 8 | Stark County | Relatively Low | $1.4 million |
| 9 | Stutsman County | Relatively Low | $1.2 million |
| 10 | McLean County | Relatively Low | $1.3 million |
Inland flooding 53 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cass County | Relatively Moderate | $34 million |
| 2 | Burleigh County | Relatively Moderate | $23 million |
| 3 | Grand Forks County | Relatively Low | $12 million |
| 4 | Williams County | Relatively Low | $7.6 million |
| 5 | Ward County | Relatively Low | $7.9 million |
| 6 | Barnes County | Relatively Low | $4.4 million |
| 7 | Morton County | Relatively Low | $7.9 million |
| 8 | Walsh County | Relatively Low | $5.3 million |
| 9 | McLean County | Very Low | $4.6 million |
| 10 | Emmons County | Very Low | $3.0 million |
Wildfire 53 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rolette County | Relatively Moderate | $3.3 million |
| 2 | Emmons County | Relatively Moderate | $1.9 million |
| 3 | McHenry County | Relatively Low | $1.3 million |
| 4 | Bottineau County | Relatively Low | $733,102 |
| 5 | Burleigh County | Relatively Low | $827,123 |
| 6 | Dunn County | Relatively Low | $607,617 |
| 7 | Sioux County | Relatively Low | $236,173 |
| 8 | Benson County | Relatively Low | $251,334 |
| 9 | Ramsey County | Relatively Low | $514,094 |
| 10 | Ward County | Relatively Low | $578,417 |
Earthquake 53 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cass County | Very Low | $68,911 |
| 2 | Hettinger County | Very Low | $29,750 |
| 3 | Burleigh County | Very Low | $36,844 |
| 4 | Williams County | Very Low | $33,249 |
| 5 | Emmons County | Very Low | $18,748 |
| 6 | Stark County | Very Low | $25,827 |
| 7 | Rolette County | Very Low | $10,128 |
| 8 | McLean County | Very Low | $19,532 |
| 9 | Richland County | Very Low | $17,409 |
| 10 | Grand Forks County | Very Low | $16,834 |
Every North Dakota county, highest overall risk first
53| # | County | Overall risk | Score | Loss a year | Top hazard | Declarations | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burleigh County | Relatively Moderate | 85.1 | $72 million | Winter weather | 20 | 60 |
| 2 | Cass County | Relatively Moderate | 82.4 | $82 million | Winter weather | 33 | 106 |
| 3 | Ward County | Relatively Low | 64.8 | $37 million | Winter weather | 26 | 55 |
| 4 | Sioux County | Relatively Low | 62.1 | $12 million | Cold wave | 20 | 17 |
| 5 | Grand Forks County | Relatively Low | 57.7 | $25 million | Winter weather | 36 | 91 |
| 6 | Williams County | Relatively Low | 53.7 | $25 million | Winter weather | 18 | 26 |
| 7 | Rolette County | Relatively Low | 52.9 | $11 million | Wildfire | 23 | 17 |
| 8 | Morton County | Relatively Low | 49.6 | $26 million | Hail | 25 | 54 |
| 9 | Stutsman County | Relatively Low | 46.4 | $16 million | Winter weather | 29 | 58 |
| 10 | Barnes County | Relatively Low | 45.9 | $13 million | Winter weather | 33 | 68 |
| 11 | Emmons County | Relatively Low | 44.3 | $12 million | Wildfire | 24 | 43 |
| 12 | McLean County | Relatively Low | 43.1 | $16 million | Winter weather | 23 | 49 |
| 13 | Stark County | Very Low | 37.3 | $14 million | Winter weather | 14 | 26 |
| 14 | Richland County | Very Low | 35.3 | $13 million | Winter weather | 35 | 60 |
| 15 | McIntosh County | Very Low | 35.2 | $7.8 million | Cold wave | 19 | 22 |
| 16 | Walsh County | Very Low | 29.0 | $12 million | Winter weather | 39 | 54 |
| 17 | McKenzie County | Very Low | 25.0 | $12 million | Winter weather | 22 | 23 |
| 18 | Benson County | Very Low | 24.3 | $5.0 million | Winter weather | 29 | 50 |
| 19 | Mountrail County | Very Low | 21.4 | $7.4 million | Winter weather | 25 | 31 |
| 20 | Pembina County | Very Low | 20.9 | $6.4 million | Winter weather | 36 | 41 |
| 21 | Bottineau County | Very Low | 18.7 | $7.4 million | Winter weather | 26 | 34 |
| 22 | Ramsey County | Very Low | 18.3 | $8.6 million | Winter weather | 27 | 51 |
| 23 | Dickey County | Very Low | 15.8 | $6.1 million | Winter weather | 30 | 35 |
| 24 | Grant County | Very Low | 14.8 | $4.5 million | Hail | 25 | 27 |
| 25 | Mercer County | Very Low | 13.9 | $7.8 million | Winter weather | 23 | 22 |
| 26 | Ransom County | Very Low | 13.2 | $6.5 million | Ice storm | 34 | 35 |
| 27 | Golden Valley County | Very Low | 13.1 | $4.8 million | Cold wave | 11 | 9 |
| 28 | Cavalier County | Very Low | 11.8 | $4.5 million | Winter weather | 24 | 43 |
| 29 | McHenry County | Very Low | 11.7 | $7.3 million | Winter weather | 30 | 37 |
| 30 | Traill County | Very Low | 11.0 | $8.2 million | Hail | 34 | 33 |
| 31 | LaMoure County | Very Low | 10.9 | $5.7 million | Winter weather | 31 | 39 |
| 32 | Dunn County | Very Low | 10.8 | $4.8 million | Hail | 16 | 26 |
| 33 | Logan County | Very Low | 9.9 | $3.8 million | Cold wave | 24 | 19 |
| 34 | Hettinger County | Very Low | 9.2 | $3.9 million | Winter weather | 17 | 20 |
| 35 | Wells County | Very Low | 8.6 | $4.2 million | Winter weather | 27 | 27 |
| 36 | Nelson County | Very Low | 7.9 | $3.0 million | Hail | 31 | 41 |
| 37 | Sargent County | Very Low | 7.4 | $5.5 million | Hail | 30 | 26 |
| 38 | Foster County | Very Low | 7.4 | $3.9 million | Winter weather | 21 | 17 |
| 39 | Steele County | Very Low | 6.6 | $4.3 million | Strong wind | 29 | 45 |
| 40 | Divide County | Very Low | 5.8 | $2.7 million | Winter weather | 15 | 12 |
| 41 | Griggs County | Very Low | 5.1 | $3.1 million | Ice storm | 21 | 39 |
| 42 | Sheridan County | Very Low | 5.0 | $4.2 million | Hail | 20 | 24 |
| 43 | Adams County | Very Low | 4.5 | $2.2 million | Hail | 13 | 14 |
| 44 | Pierce County | Very Low | 3.2 | $3.4 million | Winter weather | 21 | 17 |
| 45 | Kidder County | Very Low | 3.1 | $3.4 million | Winter weather | 24 | 24 |
| 46 | Bowman County | Very Low | 2.1 | $2.7 million | Winter weather | 11 | 13 |
| 47 | Towner County | Very Low | 2.0 | $2.7 million | Ice storm | 26 | 33 |
| 48 | Eddy County | Very Low | 1.8 | $2.6 million | Ice storm | 22 | 20 |
| 49 | Oliver County | Very Low | 1.7 | $2.6 million | Wildfire | 20 | 12 |
| 50 | Renville County | Very Low | 1.5 | $2.4 million | Winter weather | 23 | 25 |
| 51 | Burke County | Very Low | 1.0 | $2.0 million | Winter weather | 20 | 27 |
| 52 | Billings County | Very Low | 0.9 | $1.7 million | Wildfire | 10 | 7 |
| 53 | Slope County | Very Low | 0.6 | $1.1 million | Wildfire | 8 | 11 |
Score: FEMA's national percentile (higher = more risk). Declarations: federal declarations that named the county since 1953, not counting COVID-19. Tornadoes: NOAA SPC tornadoes that touched the county, 1950–2025.
Latest federal declarations in North Dakota
Other states and territories
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Virgin Islands
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index compares every US county with every other for 18 natural hazards, combining expected losses with social vulnerability and community resilience. It is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not the risk to any one property — for flood zones use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center ↗. Federal declarations exclude state declarations and SBA or USDA designations.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about North Dakota
Which county in North Dakota has the highest natural disaster risk?
Of North Dakota's 53 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Burleigh County (score 85.1 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $565 million a year.
Which North Dakota counties are most at risk from tornadoes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index tornado risk score: Cass County, Burleigh County, Ward County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
Which North Dakota counties are most at risk from inland flooding?
By FEMA's National Risk Index inland flooding risk score: Cass County, Burleigh County, Grand Forks County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has North Dakota had?
OpenFEMA lists 73 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for North Dakota since 1957 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4934-ND, Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, declared 1 September 2026.