Natural hazards · Knife River

Knife River, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Knife River comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Knife River?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Knife River to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves45%Inland flooding20%Hail9%Tornadoes8%Winter weather5%Wildfire5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Knife River faces

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

Cold waves

45% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 6% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Winter weather

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Lower here

Ice stormsHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Knife River flood?

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

Disasters that hit Knife River

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Mountrail County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Knife River itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Knife RiverDeclared for Mountrail County only

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

Around Knife River

Knife River and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Knife Rivermostly cold wavesVery low

Osbornmostly cold wavesVery low

Crane Creekmostly cold wavesVery low

Brookbankmostly cold wavesVery low

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. Knife River 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 Knife River’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Knife River. 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.