Cathay’s biggest natural hazard is cold waves
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cathay comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Cathay’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Cathay faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Cold waves
Inland flooding
Hail
Tornadoes
Does Cathay flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cathay. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
How exposed is Cathay?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.
Rated higher than 1,056 of the 1,711 North Dakota towns we cover.
Cathay is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cathay
Disasters that paid out in Cathay itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Cathay) and its biggest flood years.
- 2011Flooding$1K to the City of Cathay for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$38K to the City of Cathay for repairs
- 2001Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation$2K to the City of Cathay for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Flooding and Ground Saturation$22K to the City of Cathay for repairs
Wells County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Cathay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cathay archive →Get ready for what Cathay 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.
- 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Wells County’s 25 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 Cathay’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cathay.
- 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 Cathay.
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.