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Natural hazards · Wahpeton

Wahpeton, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wahpeton comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 95 claims here since 1979. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Wahpeton?

32
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wahpeton to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves38%Inland flooding34%Tornadoes13%Winter weather6%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Wahpeton faces

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

Cold waves

38% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places
Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Winter weather

6% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 24 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Wahpeton flood?

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

95paid claims since 1979
$1.3Mpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Severe flooding: 3 claims, $3K
  • Winter storm: 2 claims, $20K
  • Not a named storm: 1 claim, $10K

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

11flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1flood-prone homes bought out and moved
Disasters that hit Wahpeton

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WahpetonDeclared for Richland County only
2023

Flooding

$343K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs
2011

Flooding

21 households applied for aid $25K aid approved
2010

Flooding

$9K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

90 households applied for aid $108K aid approved $52K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$12K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs
2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$17K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs
2005

Severe Winter Storm

$9K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs
2001

Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground Saturation

$137K to the City of Wahpeton for repairs
Richland County has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Wahpeton

Wahpeton and the towns around it

Connelly: High, mostly inland floodingBreckenridge: Low, mostly cold wavesCenter: Moderate, mostly cold wavesBreckenridge: High, mostly inland floodingDwight: Low, mostly cold wavesNordick: High, mostly inland floodingNilsen: High, mostly inland floodingSummit: Moderate, mostly cold wavesMooreton: Moderate, mostly cold wavesBrandrup: High, mostly inland floodingSunnyside: High, mostly inland floodingAbercrombie: Low, mostly cold wavesIbsen: Low, mostly cold wavesWahpeton: Low, mostly cold waves WahpetonConnellyBreckenridgeCenterBreckenridgeDwight
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Connellymostly inland floodingHigh
Breckenridgemostly inland floodingHigh
Centermostly cold wavesModerate
Wahpetonmostly cold wavesLow
Breckenridgemostly cold wavesLow
Dwightmostly cold wavesLow
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. Wahpeton covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Wahpeton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wahpeton. 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 Wahpeton total about $1.9M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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