Natural hazards · West Bay

West Bay, ND natural hazards

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

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West Bay?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Bay to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves.

Cold waves55%Inland flooding12%Strong wind11%Hail8%Ice storms6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What West Bay faces

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

Cold waves

55% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

12% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesWinter 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 West Bay flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Benson County.

Disasters that hit West Bay

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into West BayDeclared for Benson County only

Benson County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around West Bay

West Bay and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Oberonmostly cold wavesModerate

Lalliemostly cold wavesModerate

West Baymostly cold wavesLow

Rigginmostly cold wavesLow

Eldonmostly 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. West Bay 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 West Bay’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of West Bay. 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.