Natural hazards · Westhope

Westhope, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Westhope comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Westhope?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Westhope to be higher than in 1% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves42%Inland flooding22%Winter weather8%Tornadoes7%Wildfire7%Ice storms5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Westhope faces

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

Cold waves

42% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

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

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

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

Ice storms

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

HailHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Westhope flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bottineau County.

Disasters that hit Westhope

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WesthopeDeclared for Bottineau County only

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation

$6K to the City of Westhope for repairs

2000

Severe Storms, Flooding and Ground Saturation

$75K to the City of Westhope for repairs

Bottineau County has had 25 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. Westhope 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 Westhope’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Westhope. 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.