Natural hazards · Waterford

Waterford, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waterford 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 Waterford?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waterford to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves57%Inland flooding15%Tornadoes10%Winter weather8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Waterford faces

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

Cold waves

57% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 6% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Winter weather

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Waterford flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ward County.

Disasters that hit Waterford

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaterfordDeclared for Ward County only

Ward County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Waterford

Waterford and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Tatmanmostly cold wavesVery low

St. Marysmostly cold wavesVery low

Waterfordmostly cold wavesVery low

Van Burenmostly 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. Waterford covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Waterford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Waterford. 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 Waterford total about $2.1M 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.