Natural hazards · Crystal

Crystal, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Crystal comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1978. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Crystal?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Crystal to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding34%Cold waves31%Ice storms7%Hail5%Everything else23%

By hazard

What Crystal faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

31% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Ice storms

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesWinter weatherHeat 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 Crystal flood?

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

12paid claims since 1978

$25Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 5 claims, $8K
Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $205

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. Crystal isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Pembina County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

12flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Crystal

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Crystal itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Crystal.

Brought FEMA money into CrystalDeclared for Pembina County only

2013

Flooding

$15K to the City of Crystal for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$11K to the City of Crystal for repairs

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

Around Crystal

Crystal and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Crystalmostly inland floodingLow

Eloramostly inland floodingLow

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