Natural hazards · Sarles

Sarles, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sarles comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low 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 Sarles?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sarles to be higher than in 17% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves.

Cold waves52%Inland flooding14%Hail14%Strong wind9%Ice storms5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Sarles 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 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 24 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Ice storms

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesWinter 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 Sarles flood?

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

Disasters that hit Sarles

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SarlesDeclared for Cavalier County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $2K aid approved $9K to the City of Sarles for repairs

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$3K to the City of Sarles for repairs

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$2K to the City of Sarles for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$5K to the City of Sarles for repairs

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$9K to the City of Sarles for repairs

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

Around Sarles

Sarles and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Dashmostly cold wavesLow

Sarlesmostly cold wavesVery low

Cypressmostly cold wavesVery low

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