Natural hazards · Center

Center, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Center comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1997.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Center?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Center to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves40%Inland flooding32%Hail11%Tornadoes8%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Center faces

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

Cold waves

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hail

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Center flood?

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

23paid claims since 1997

$292Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19972026

Biggest named events

Winter storm: 4 claims, $85K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Richland County.

Disasters that hit Center

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into CenterDeclared for Richland County only

Richland County has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Center

Center and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Breckenridgemostly inland floodingHigh

Brandrupmostly inland floodingHigh

Centermostly cold wavesModerate

Summitmostly cold wavesModerate

Mooretonmostly cold wavesModerate

Wahpetonmostly cold wavesLow

Breckenridgemostly cold wavesLow

Dwightmostly cold wavesLow

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