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Natural hazards · Moorhead

Moorhead, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Moorhead comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 497 claims here since 1978. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Moorhead?

76
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Moorhead to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding68%Cold waves16%Tornadoes7%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Moorhead 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 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places
Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

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 Moorhead flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Moorhead, from FEMA’s records.

497paid claims since 1978
$4.6Mpaid to owners
10homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Not a named storm: 27 claims, $117K
  • Winter storm: 23 claims, $410K
  • Severe flooding: 14 claims, $18K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (4) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
🏷️ 25% off flood insurance. Moorhead is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 5) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Clay County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

52flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1homes raised above flood level
Disasters that hit Moorhead

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MoorheadDeclared for Clay County only
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$46K to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$271K to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$2.9M to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2010

Flooding

$1.1M to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

825 households applied for aid $1.8M aid approved $3.5M to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2006

Flooding

$130K to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2005

Severe Winter Storm

$34K to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$193K to the City of Moorhead for repairs
2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$475K to the City of Moorhead for repairs
1999

Severe Storms, Winds, and Flooding

$22K to the City of Moorhead for repairs
Clay County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Moorhead

Moorhead and the towns around it

Fargo: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMoorhead: Very high, mostly inland floodingDilworth: Low, mostly inland floodingOakport: Very high, mostly inland floodingGlyndon: High, mostly inland floodingStanley: Moderate, mostly inland floodingReed: High, mostly inland floodingWest Fargo: Low, mostly inland floodingHorace: Moderate, mostly inland floodingKurtz: Very high, mostly inland floodingFrontier: High, mostly inland floodingPleasant: High, mostly inland floodingBriarwood: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHarwood: High, mostly inland floodingMoland: Very high, mostly inland floodingNorth River: Low, mostly inland floodingKragnes: Very high, mostly inland floodingRiverton: High, mostly inland floodingElmwood: High, mostly inland floodingMoorhead: High, mostly inland flooding MoorheadFargoMoorheadDilworthOakportGlyndon
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Oakportmostly inland floodingVery high
Moorheadmostly inland floodingVery high
Moorheadmostly inland floodingHigh
Glyndonmostly inland floodingHigh
Fargomostly inland floodingModerate
Dilworthmostly 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. Moorhead covers 10 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Moorhead’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Moorhead. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Moorhead total about $18.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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