Natural hazards · Burlington

Burlington, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Burlington comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2009.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Burlington?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Burlington to be higher than in 21% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves43%Inland flooding27%Tornadoes8%Winter weather6%Hail5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Burlington faces

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

Cold waves

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Winter weather

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsHeat 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 Burlington flood?

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

8paid claims since 2009

$973Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

20092026

Biggest named events

Late spring storms: 3 claims, $871K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Burlington is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Ward County.

Disasters that hit Burlington

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into BurlingtonDeclared for Ward County only

Ward County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Burlington

Burlington and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Burlingtonmostly cold wavesLow

Des Lacsmostly cold wavesLow

Burtmostly cold wavesLow

Harrisonmostly cold wavesVery low

Kirkeliemostly cold wavesVery low

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