Berlin is calmer than 70% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Berlin comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Berlin’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Berlin faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Cold waves
Strong wind
Inland flooding
Hail
How exposed is Berlin?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 30% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves.
Calmer than 896 of the 1,711 North Dakota towns we cover.
Berlin is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Berlin flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Berlin. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Berlin isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: LaMoure County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Berlin
Disasters that paid out in Berlin itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Berlin) and its biggest flood years.
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding1 household applied for aid
LaMoure County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Berlin after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Berlin archive →Get ready for what Berlin actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in February–April
The month each of LaMoure County’s 29 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Berlin’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Berlin.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Berlin.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.