Natural hazards · Central

Central, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Central comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 31 claims here since 1997.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Central?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Central to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and hail.

Cold waves31%Hail23%Inland flooding15%Ice storms10%Strong wind7%Tornadoes7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Central faces

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

Cold waves

31% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Hail

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Ice storms

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Winter weatherHeat 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 Central flood?

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

31paid claims since 1997

$767Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

Biggest named events

Late spring storms: 1 claim, $9K

Disasters that hit Central

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into CentralDeclared for Nelson County only

Nelson County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Central

Central and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Centralmostly cold wavesModerate

Wamduskamostly cold wavesModerate

Melvinmostly cold wavesModerate

Hamlinmostly cold wavesModerate

Williamsmostly cold wavesModerate

Osagomostly cold wavesModerate

Fieldmostly cold wavesModerate

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. Central covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Central’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Central. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Central total about $3.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.