TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
BismarckGood night
Natural hazards · Bismarck

Bismarck, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bismarck comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community.

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

How exposed is Bismarck?

33
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bismarck to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding42%Cold waves13%Strong wind13%Tornadoes13%Drought9%Hail6%Everything else4%
By hazard

What Bismarck faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Bismarck flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Bismarck isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sibley County.
Disasters that hit Bismarck

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Sibley County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bismarck itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into BismarckDeclared for Sibley County only
Sibley County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Bismarck

Bismarck and the towns around it

Moltke: Low, mostly inland floodingTransit: Low, mostly inland floodingRound Grove: Low, mostly inland floodingCornish: Low, mostly inland floodingGrafton: Low, mostly inland floodingSeverance: Low, mostly inland floodingWellington: Low, mostly inland floodingDryden: Low, mostly inland floodingWinthrop: Low, mostly inland floodingPenn: Low, mostly inland floodingStewart: Low, mostly inland floodingCollins: Low, mostly inland floodingSumter: Low, mostly inland floodingAlfsborg: Low, mostly inland floodingLafayette: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBismarck: Low, mostly inland flooding BismarckMoltkeTransitRound GroveCornish
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Round Grovemostly inland floodingLow
Bismarckmostly inland floodingLow
Moltkemostly inland floodingLow
Cornishmostly inland floodingLow
Transitmostly inland floodingLow
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. Bismarck 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 Bismarck’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Bismarck. 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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Bismarck, MNSibley CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Bismarck is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map