South Dakota Natural Disaster Risk by County
Of South Dakota's 66 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Minnehaha County (score 89.5 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $768 million a year.
OpenFEMA lists 93 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for South Dakota since 1954 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4941-SD, Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, declared 1 September 2026.
Live weather alerts for South Dakota Latest FEMA declarations All official warnings
Most exposed counties, hazard by hazard
Top 10 by FEMA hazard risk scoreTornado 66 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnehaha County | Relatively High | $36 million |
| 2 | Lincoln County | Relatively High | $17 million |
| 3 | Yankton County | Relatively Moderate | $4.7 million |
| 4 | Brookings County | Relatively Moderate | $5.9 million |
| 5 | Codington County | Relatively Moderate | $3.8 million |
| 6 | Davison County | Relatively Moderate | $3.5 million |
| 7 | Lake County | Relatively Moderate | $3.1 million |
| 8 | Brown County | Relatively Moderate | $2.9 million |
| 9 | Union County | Relatively Moderate | $3.4 million |
| 10 | McCook County | Relatively Moderate | $3.6 million |
Inland flooding 66 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnehaha County | Relatively Moderate | $34 million |
| 2 | Pennington County | Relatively Moderate | $17 million |
| 3 | Codington County | Relatively Low | $12 million |
| 4 | Brown County | Relatively Low | $11 million |
| 5 | McCook County | Relatively Low | $13 million |
| 6 | Yankton County | Relatively Low | $6.9 million |
| 7 | Lawrence County | Relatively Low | $8.5 million |
| 8 | Lincoln County | Relatively Low | $15 million |
| 9 | Meade County | Relatively Low | $9.5 million |
| 10 | Brookings County | Relatively Low | $9.2 million |
Wildfire 66 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennington County | Relatively Moderate | $8.3 million |
| 2 | Oglala Lakota County | Relatively Moderate | $3.7 million |
| 3 | Meade County | Relatively Moderate | $6.6 million |
| 4 | Custer County | Relatively Moderate | $4.0 million |
| 5 | Todd County | Relatively Moderate | $1.5 million |
| 6 | Fall River County | Relatively Moderate | $1.7 million |
| 7 | Lawrence County | Relatively Moderate | $2.4 million |
| 8 | Bennett County | Relatively Low | $514,339 |
| 9 | Butte County | Relatively Low | $864,972 |
| 10 | Jackson County | Relatively Low | $385,079 |
Earthquake 66 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennington County | Very Low | $406,270 |
| 2 | Lawrence County | Very Low | $140,150 |
| 3 | Meade County | Very Low | $180,997 |
| 4 | Minnehaha County | Very Low | $161,999 |
| 5 | Fall River County | Very Low | $75,423 |
| 6 | Yankton County | Very Low | $57,181 |
| 7 | Davison County | Very Low | $69,159 |
| 8 | Butte County | Very Low | $63,147 |
| 9 | Brown County | Very Low | $67,642 |
| 10 | Charles Mix County | Very Low | $50,127 |
Every South Dakota county, highest overall risk first
66| # | County | Overall risk | Score | Loss a year | Top hazard | Declarations | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnehaha County | Relatively Moderate | 89.5 | $104 million | Ice storm | 15 | 51 |
| 2 | Dewey County | Relatively Low | 78.7 | $22 million | Cold wave | 14 | 28 |
| 3 | Pennington County | Relatively Low | 78.6 | $41 million | Wildfire | 19 | 50 |
| 4 | Brown County | Relatively Low | 73.5 | $37 million | Winter weather | 17 | 86 |
| 5 | Yankton County | Relatively Low | 63.4 | $19 million | Drought | 14 | 29 |
| 6 | Lincoln County | Relatively Low | 63.0 | $42 million | Winter weather | 15 | 60 |
| 7 | Codington County | Relatively Low | 61.8 | $25 million | Ice storm | 21 | 34 |
| 8 | Brule County | Relatively Low | 58.7 | $19 million | Cold wave | 19 | 30 |
| 9 | Brookings County | Relatively Low | 50.1 | $24 million | Winter weather | 19 | 35 |
| 10 | Oglala Lakota County | Relatively Low | 49.8 | $8.5 million | Wildfire | 14 | 24 |
| 11 | Meade County | Relatively Low | 49.5 | $22 million | Wildfire | 19 | 49 |
| 12 | Lawrence County | Relatively Low | 49.3 | $16 million | Wildfire | 15 | 20 |
| 13 | Charles Mix County | Relatively Low | 48.5 | $13 million | Cold wave | 15 | 45 |
| 14 | Hutchinson County | Relatively Low | 47.9 | $19 million | Drought | 22 | 48 |
| 15 | Beadle County | Relatively Low | 47.1 | $16 million | Drought | 19 | 40 |
| 16 | McCook County | Relatively Low | 43.4 | $21 million | Winter weather | 19 | 44 |
| 17 | Walworth County | Very Low | 39.5 | $10 million | Cold wave | 10 | 30 |
| 18 | Davison County | Very Low | 39.2 | $13 million | Winter weather | 13 | 24 |
| 19 | Corson County | Very Low | 38.1 | $7.1 million | Cold wave | 14 | 23 |
| 20 | Roberts County | Very Low | 37.8 | $8.6 million | Winter weather | 22 | 31 |
| 21 | Union County | Very Low | 37.1 | $16 million | Wildfire | 17 | 21 |
| 22 | Todd County | Very Low | 36.6 | $6.2 million | Wildfire | 11 | 41 |
| 23 | Tripp County | Very Low | 36.5 | $8.3 million | Cold wave | 18 | 38 |
| 24 | Lake County | Very Low | 32.6 | $12 million | Winter weather | 18 | 28 |
| 25 | Fall River County | Very Low | 30.9 | $6.8 million | Wildfire | 14 | 32 |
| 26 | Day County | Very Low | 27.6 | $7.2 million | Winter weather | 23 | 33 |
| 27 | Moody County | Very Low | 26.9 | $8.8 million | Ice storm | 19 | 11 |
| 28 | Lyman County | Very Low | 26.5 | $5.9 million | Cold wave | 14 | 43 |
| 29 | Ziebach County | Very Low | 25.2 | $4.5 million | Cold wave | 19 | 24 |
| 30 | Turner County | Very Low | 24.0 | $11 million | Drought | 24 | 47 |
| 31 | Butte County | Very Low | 23.3 | $8.1 million | Wildfire | 19 | 17 |
| 32 | Clay County | Very Low | 20.5 | $12 million | Drought | 17 | 31 |
| 33 | Aurora County | Very Low | 19.6 | $8.1 million | Ice storm | 21 | 17 |
| 34 | Grant County | Very Low | 18.9 | $11 million | Cold wave | 20 | 22 |
| 35 | Spink County | Very Low | 17.7 | $9.7 million | Hail | 21 | 50 |
| 36 | Hughes County | Very Low | 16.5 | $9.9 million | Wildfire | 15 | 17 |
| 37 | Custer County | Very Low | 16.3 | $8.8 million | Wildfire | 15 | 13 |
| 38 | Gregory County | Very Low | 16.2 | $7.5 million | Cold wave | 20 | 28 |
| 39 | Hanson County | Very Low | 14.8 | $4.3 million | Drought | 23 | 21 |
| 40 | Marshall County | Very Low | 14.5 | $6.0 million | Winter weather | 18 | 23 |
| 41 | Buffalo County | Very Low | 13.7 | $4.2 million | Cold wave | 19 | 17 |
| 42 | McPherson County | Very Low | 11.1 | $3.7 million | Winter weather | 15 | 26 |
| 43 | Bon Homme County | Very Low | 10.8 | $7.2 million | Drought | 14 | 26 |
| 44 | Douglas County | Very Low | 10.4 | $6.0 million | Drought | 16 | 25 |
| 45 | Jackson County | Very Low | 10.2 | $2.6 million | Wildfire | 20 | 22 |
| 46 | Hamlin County | Very Low | 10.0 | $7.0 million | Ice storm | 20 | 24 |
| 47 | Potter County | Very Low | 10.0 | $5.4 million | Cold wave | 14 | 20 |
| 48 | Haakon County | Very Low | 9.7 | $4.3 million | Wildfire | 14 | 30 |
| 49 | Jerauld County | Very Low | 9.5 | $4.3 million | Wildfire | 19 | 15 |
| 50 | Faulk County | Very Low | 8.0 | $2.7 million | Hail | 15 | 22 |
| 51 | Kingsbury County | Very Low | 7.9 | $6.7 million | Ice storm | 23 | 48 |
| 52 | Edmunds County | Very Low | 7.0 | $5.3 million | Winter weather | 18 | 31 |
| 53 | Deuel County | Very Low | 6.9 | $5.5 million | Wildfire | 22 | 37 |
| 54 | Hand County | Very Low | 6.5 | $4.4 million | Wildfire | 20 | 45 |
| 55 | Hyde County | Very Low | 6.5 | $2.7 million | Wildfire | 13 | 15 |
| 56 | Sully County | Very Low | 6.3 | $5.2 million | Wildfire | 14 | 22 |
| 57 | Bennett County | Very Low | 5.9 | $1.9 million | Wildfire | 13 | 31 |
| 58 | Mellette County | Very Low | 5.2 | $1.9 million | Wildfire | 12 | 11 |
| 59 | Stanley County | Very Low | 5.1 | $4.3 million | Wildfire | 13 | 23 |
| 60 | Clark County | Very Low | 4.5 | $4.2 million | Cold wave | 20 | 37 |
| 61 | Campbell County | Very Low | 4.4 | $4.3 million | Wildfire | 13 | 17 |
| 62 | Sanborn County | Very Low | 3.6 | $3.8 million | Wildfire | 20 | 23 |
| 63 | Miner County | Very Low | 3.4 | $4.7 million | Drought | 18 | 40 |
| 64 | Perkins County | Very Low | 2.6 | $3.1 million | Wildfire | 19 | 46 |
| 65 | Harding County | Very Low | 1.5 | $2.3 million | Wildfire | 13 | 21 |
| 66 | Jones County | Very Low | 1.3 | $2.1 million | Wildfire | 13 | 8 |
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 South 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 North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina 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 South Dakota
Which county in South Dakota has the highest natural disaster risk?
Of South Dakota's 66 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Minnehaha County (score 89.5 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $768 million a year.
Which South Dakota counties are most at risk from tornadoes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index tornado risk score: Minnehaha County, Lincoln County, Yankton County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
Which South Dakota counties are most at risk from inland flooding?
By FEMA's National Risk Index inland flooding risk score: Minnehaha County, Pennington County, Codington County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has South Dakota had?
OpenFEMA lists 93 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for South Dakota since 1954 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4941-SD, Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, declared 1 September 2026.