Natural hazards · Sawyer

Sawyer, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sawyer comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1979. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sawyer?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sawyer to be higher than in 28% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves41%Inland flooding30%Tornadoes8%Winter weather6%Hail5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Sawyer faces

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

Cold waves

41% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Winter weather

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsHeat 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 Sawyer flood?

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

5paid claims since 1979

$50Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Late spring storms: 3 claims, $49K

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Sawyer is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Ward County.

Disasters that hit Sawyer

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SawyerDeclared for Ward County only

2011

Flooding

69 households applied for aid $260K aid approved $185K to the City of Sawyer for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

19 households applied for aid $43K aid approved $1K to the City of Sawyer for repairs

2005

Severe Winter Storm and Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$5K to the City of Sawyer for repairs

Ward County has had 24 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. Sawyer 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 Sawyer’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sawyer. 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.