Natural hazards · Golden Valley

Golden Valley, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Golden Valley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Golden Valley?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Golden Valley to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding36%Cold waves29%Hail13%Tornadoes7%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Golden Valley faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

29% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 15 times a year in the area

Hail

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 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 Golden Valley flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mercer County.

Disasters that hit Golden Valley

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Golden ValleyDeclared for Mercer County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

Mercer County has had 20 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. Golden Valley 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 Golden Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Golden Valley. 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.