Natural hazards · Lakota

Lakota, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lakota comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lakota?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lakota to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and hail.

Cold waves31%Hail23%Inland flooding15%Ice storms10%Strong wind7%Tornadoes7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Lakota faces

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

Cold waves

31% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Hail

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Ice storms

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Winter 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 Lakota flood?

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

Disasters that hit Lakota

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LakotaDeclared for Nelson County only

2022

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$44K to the City of Lakota for repairs

2010

Flooding

$28K to the City of Lakota for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $12K aid approved $9K to the City of Lakota for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$712 to the City of Lakota for repairs

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$13K to the City of Lakota for repairs

Nelson County has had 28 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. Lakota 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 Lakota’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lakota. 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.