Natural hazards · Devils Lake

Devils Lake, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Devils Lake comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 38 claims here since 1996. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Devils Lake?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Devils Lake to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves38%Inland flooding20%Strong wind10%Winter weather8%Tornadoes6%Ice storms6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Devils Lake faces

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

Cold waves

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 24 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 5% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Winter weather

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Heat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Devils Lake flood?

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

38paid claims since 1996

$2.8Mpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Severe flooding: 4 claims, $120K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ramsey County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

14flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Devils Lake

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Devils LakeDeclared for Ramsey County only

2011

Flooding

91 households applied for aid $112K aid approved

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

251 households applied for aid $113K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$75K to the City of Devils Lake for repairs

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$131K to the City of Devils Lake for repairs

2000

Severe Storms, Flooding and Ground Saturation

$136K to the City of Devils Lake for repairs

1999

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

$221K to the City of Devils Lake for repairs

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

Around Devils Lake

Devils Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

North Creelmostly cold wavesLow

Devils Lakemostly cold wavesLow

Creelmostly 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. Devils Lake covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Devils Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Devils Lake. 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 Devils Lake total about $2.0M 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.