Natural hazards · Dawson

Dawson, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dawson comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dawson?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dawson to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves41%Inland flooding20%Hail13%Strong wind10%Tornadoes7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Dawson faces

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

Cold waves

41% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter 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 Dawson flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dawson.

Disasters that hit Dawson

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DawsonDeclared for Kidder County only

2020

Flooding

$10K to the City of Dawson for repairs

2019

Flooding

$89K to the City of Dawson for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

1999

Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow, Ice, Ground Saturation, Lanslides, Mudslides, and Tor

$23K to the City of Dawson for repairs

Kidder County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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