Natural hazards · Portland

Portland, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Portland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1997. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Portland?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Portland to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding47%Tornadoes15%Ice storms9%Cold waves8%Hail8%Strong wind5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Portland faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Ice storms

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Heat 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 Portland flood?

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

1paid claims since 1997

$3Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Traill County.

Disasters that hit Portland

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PortlandDeclared for Traill County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $29K aid approved

2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$8K to the City of Portland for repairs

1999

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

$1K to the City of Portland for repairs

Traill County has had 30 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Portland

Portland and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Portlandmostly inland floodingLow

Vikingmostly inland floodingLow

Rosevillemostly hailLow

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