Natural hazards · Petersburg

Petersburg, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Petersburg 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 Petersburg?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Petersburg 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 Petersburg 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 Petersburg flood?

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

Disasters that hit Petersburg

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PetersburgDeclared for Nelson County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$5K to the City of Petersburg for repairs

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$31K to the City of Petersburg for repairs

2000

Severe Storms, Flooding and Ground Saturation

$12K to the City of Petersburg for repairs

1999

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

$26K to the City of Petersburg for repairs

Nelson County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Petersburg

Petersburg and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Petersburgmostly cold wavesModerate

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