Natural hazards · Bowman

Bowman, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bowman comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bowman?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bowman to be higher than in 5% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves55%Inland flooding16%Hail8%Winter weather5%Strong wind5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Bowman faces

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

Cold waves

55% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 3% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Winter weather

5% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Bowman flood?

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

11paid claims since 1978

$13Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 2 claims, $2K
Winter storm: 1 claim, $1K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bowman County.

Disasters that hit Bowman

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BowmanDeclared for Bowman County only

2005

Severe Winter Storm and Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$6K to the City of Bowman for repairs

Bowman County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Bowman 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 Bowman’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bowman. 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.