Natural hazards · Rolla

Rolla, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rolla comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rolla?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rolla to be higher than in 3% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves52%Inland flooding23%Winter weather7%Ice storms6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Rolla faces

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

Cold waves

52% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 3% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Winter weather

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailHeat 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 Rolla flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rolette County.

Disasters that hit Rolla

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RollaDeclared for Rolette County only

2017

Flooding

$39K to the City of Rolla for repairs

2011

Flooding

$4K to the City of Rolla for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

34 households applied for aid $9K aid approved $15K to the City of Rolla for repairs

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$5K to the City of Rolla for repairs

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$4K to the City of Rolla for repairs

1999

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

$54K to the City of Rolla for repairs

Rolette County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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