Natural hazards · South Valley

South Valley, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in South Valley comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is South Valley?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Cold waves35%Wildfire33%Inland flooding14%Ice storms6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What South Valley faces

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

Cold waves

35% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Wildfire

33% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years 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

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 South Valley flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. South Valley 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 South Valley

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Rolette County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching South Valley itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into South ValleyDeclared for Rolette County only

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

Around South Valley

South Valley and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

South Valleymostly cold wavesVery low

Kohlmeiermostly cold wavesVery low

Wellingtonmostly 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. South Valley 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 South Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of South Valley. 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.