Natural hazards · Medora

Medora, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Medora comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Medora?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Medora to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hail.

Inland flooding42%Hail18%Cold waves13%Wildfire10%Strong wind7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Medora faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Hail

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Wildfire

10% of expected damage

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

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Medora flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Billings County.

Disasters that hit Medora

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MedoraDeclared for Billings County only

2011

Flooding

1 household applied for aid $58K to the City of Medora for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Winter Storm and Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$12K to the City of Medora for repairs

Billings County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Medora 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 Medora’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Medora. 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.