Natural hazards · Valley

Valley, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Valley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 245 claims here since 1979. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Valley?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Valley to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding56%Cold waves24%Tornadoes7%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Valley faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Valley flood?

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

245paid claims since 1979

$1.6Mpaid to owners

8homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 60 claims, $90K
Midwest Flooding: 47 claims, $144K
Winter storm: 1 claim, $1K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 05% off flood insurance. Valley is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Barnes County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

115flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

7flood-prone homes bought out and moved

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Valley

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ValleyDeclared for Barnes County only

2025

Severe Storm, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

$274K to the City of Valley for repairs

2023

Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds

$136K to the City of Valley for repairs

2022

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$1.4M to the City of Valley for repairs

2020

Flooding

$36K to the City of Valley for repairs

2019

Flooding

$96K to the City of Valley for repairs

2011

Flooding

53 households applied for aid $54K aid approved $3.3M to the City of Valley for repairs

2010

Flooding

$32K to the City of Valley for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

891 households applied for aid $448K aid approved $6.7M to the City of Valley for repairs

2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$64K to the City of Valley for repairs

1999

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

$1.8M to the City of Valley for repairs

Barnes County has had 30 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. Valley covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Valley. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Valley total about $3.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.