Natural hazards · Scranton

Scranton, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Scranton comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Scranton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Scranton to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves46%Inland flooding23%Hail9%Strong wind6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Scranton faces

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

Cold waves

46% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter 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 Scranton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bowman County.

Disasters that hit Scranton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ScrantonDeclared for Bowman County only

2005

Severe Winter Storm and Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$2K to the City of Scranton for repairs

Bowman County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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