Natural hazards · Fessenden

Fessenden, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fessenden comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fessenden?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fessenden to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves57%Inland flooding15%Hail9%Tornadoes6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Fessenden faces

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

Cold waves

57% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter 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 Fessenden flood?

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

Disasters that hit Fessenden

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FessendenDeclared for Wells County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

26 households applied for aid $27K aid approved

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$12K to the City of Fessenden for repairs

Wells County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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