Natural hazards · Colfax

Colfax, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Colfax comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 38 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Colfax?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Colfax to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding38%Cold waves35%Tornadoes8%Hail8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Colfax faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

35% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 17 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 5 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year 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 Colfax flood?

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

38paid claims since 1979

$415Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Winter storm: 3 claims, $112K
Late spring storms: 1 claim, $3K
Severe flooding: 1 claim, $492

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Colfax 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 Colfax

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColfaxDeclared for Richland County only

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

Around Colfax

Colfax and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Colfaxmostly inland floodingModerate

Eaglemostly inland floodingModerate

Walcottmostly inland floodingModerate

Vikingmostly inland floodingModerate

Nansenmostly cold wavesLow

Abercrombiemostly 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. Colfax covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Colfax’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Colfax. 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 Colfax total about $2.3M 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.