Natural hazards · Wahpeton

Wahpeton, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wahpeton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Wahpeton?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wahpeton to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding68%Tornadoes16%Cold waves6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Wahpeton faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 74 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Wahpeton flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wahpeton.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Wahpeton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Dickinson County.

Disasters that hit Wahpeton

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Wahpeton itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Wahpeton.

Brought FEMA money into WahpetonDeclared for Dickinson County only

2024

Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

5 households applied for aid $750 aid approved $13K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs

2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$17K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$27K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm

$4K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs

Dickinson County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Wahpeton

Wahpeton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Wahpetonmostly inland floodingHigh

West Okobojimostly inland floodingHigh

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Wahpeton is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Wahpeton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wahpeton. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.