Emmons County, North Dakota: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Emmons County, North Dakota has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 44.3 out of 100, higher than about 44% of US counties, with wildfires, hail and winter storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $12 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 24 federal disaster declarations that included Emmons County since 1969, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4888-ND (Severe Storm, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds, declared 11 September 2025). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 43 tornadoes touching Emmons County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for North Dakota All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 3,301 Buildings worth $5.5 billion Area 1,571 sq mi Risk rank in North Dakota 11 of 53 FIPS 38029
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 93.2 | $1.9 million | about once every 559 years | — |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 90.5 | $1.5 million | about 2.8 a year | 110 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 89.1 | $323,078 | about 2 a year | 383 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 82.7 | $3.7 million | about 15 a year | 284 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 70.6 | $193,580 | about once a year | 68 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 40.5 | $747,243 | about once every 2.2 years | 26 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 35.5 | $36,406 | about 16 a year | 406 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 31.8 | $260,743 | about 1.8 a year | 69 |
| Inland flooding | Very Low | 30.9 | $3.0 million | about once every 3.1 years | 9 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 29.2 | $243 | about once every 3.6 years | — |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 17.3 | $18,748 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Heat wave | Very Low | 12.1 | $20,961 | about 2 a year | 31 |
| Lightning | Very Low | 9.0 | $24,910 | about 31 a year | 47,483 strikes |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Hurricane | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 24
Most common: Flood 13, Severe Storm 8, Coastal Storm 1, Snowstorm 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Flood |
| 1970s | 6 | Flood ×4, Snowstorm, Drought |
| 1990s | 6 | Flood ×3, Severe Storm ×3 |
| 2000s | 3 | Severe Storm ×2, Coastal Storm |
| 2010s | 5 | Flood ×4, Severe Storm |
| 2020s | 3 | Severe Storm ×2, Flood |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Emmons County
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (2005, EM-3247-ND): 53 North Dakota counties designated.
- Severe Flooding,severe Winter Storms, Snowmelt, Spring Rains (1997, DR-1174-ND): 53 North Dakota counties designated.
- Severe Winter Storms and Blizzard Conditions (1997, DR-1157-ND): 53 North Dakota counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. North Dakota also had 2 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 43
| Tornadoes touching the county | 43 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F5 ×1 |
| Peak month | July (14) |
| Deadliest | 29 May 1953, F5, 14.8 mi path, 2 killed, 20 injured |
| Longest path | 5 May 1964, F2, 47.5 mi path |
| Most recent | 14 Sep 2025, unrated, 1.8 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 2 / 23 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 22 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 3 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Emmons County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmons County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 44.3 | Wildfire |
| Campbell County, SD | 59 km | Very Low | 4.4 | Wildfire |
| Logan County | 61 km | Very Low | 9.9 | Cold wave |
| McIntosh County | 64 km | Very Low | 35.2 | Cold wave |
| Sioux County | 66 km | Relatively Low | 62.1 | Cold wave |
| Burleigh County | 79 km | Relatively Moderate | 85.1 | Winter weather |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in North Dakota, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 62.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Moderate 55.6 |
| Community risk factor | 1.24 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $12 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Emmons County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for North Dakota · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Wildfire: US wildfires now · Wildfire smoke: what protects you
- Hail: Weather alerts for North Dakota
- Winter weather: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
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 Emmons County
What natural disasters is Emmons County, North Dakota most at risk from?
Emmons County, North Dakota has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 44.3 out of 100, higher than about 44% of US counties, with wildfires, hail and winter storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $12 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Emmons County had?
OpenFEMA lists 24 federal disaster declarations that included Emmons County since 1969, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4888-ND (Severe Storm, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds, declared 11 September 2025). Another 2 North Dakota declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Emmons County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 43 tornadoes touching Emmons County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 29 May 1953, F5, 14.8 mi path, 2 killed, 20 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.