Natural hazards · Lincoln

Lincoln, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lincoln comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1995. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lincoln?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lincoln to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and hail.

Cold waves31%Hail24%Inland flooding21%Tornadoes9%Winter weather5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Lincoln 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 17 times a year in the area

Hail

24% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 78 years in the area

Winter weather

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsHeat 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 Lincoln flood?

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

8paid claims since 1995

$142Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19952026

Biggest named events

Late spring storms: 2 claims, $121K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Burleigh County.

Disasters that hit Lincoln

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LincolnDeclared for Burleigh County only

2011

Flooding

3 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$413 to the City of Lincoln for repairs

1999

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

$63K to the City of Lincoln for repairs

Burleigh County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Lincoln

Lincoln and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Apple Creekmostly cold wavesHigh

Lincolnmostly cold wavesHigh

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. Lincoln covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lincoln’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lincoln. 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 Lincoln total about $5.2M 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.