Manvel’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Manvel comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2020. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Manvel’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Manvel faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Hail
Does Manvel flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2020
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Manvel, from FEMA’s records.
Manvel isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grand Forks County.How exposed is Manvel?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.
Rated higher than 1,594 of the 1,711 North Dakota towns we cover.
Manvel is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Manvel
Disasters that paid out in Manvel itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Manvel) and its biggest flood years.
- 2022Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$43K to the City of Manvel for repairs
- 2011Flooding$2K to the City of Manvel for repairs
- 2010Flooding$10K to the City of Manvel for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding38 households applied for aid$38K aid approved$38K to the City of Manvel for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$3K to the City of Manvel for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$11K to the City of Manvel for repairs
Show all 9
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$823 to the City of Manvel for repairs
- 2001Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation$34K to the City of Manvel for repairs
- 2000Severe Storms, Flooding and Ground Saturation$53K to the City of Manvel for repairs
Grand Forks County has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Manvel after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Manvel archive →Get ready for what Manvel actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in March–May
The month each of Grand Forks County’s 32 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Manvel’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Manvel.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Manvel.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Weather alerts: National Weather Service. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.