Natural hazards · Bayard

Bayard, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bayard comes from drought, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bayard?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bayard to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought43%Inland flooding21%Hail15%Cold waves9%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Bayard faces

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

Drought

43% of expected damage

Recorded about 83 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hail

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Bayard flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Morrill County.

Disasters that hit Bayard

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BayardDeclared for Morrill County only

2017

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

$83K to the City of Bayard for repairs

2009

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$60K to the City of Bayard for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storms

$3K to the City of Bayard for repairs

Morrill County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Bayard 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 Bayard’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bayard. 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.