Natural hazards · Aberdeen

Aberdeen, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Aberdeen comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 328 claims here since 1978. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Aberdeen?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Aberdeen to be higher than in 40% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves51%Inland flooding26%Tornadoes9%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Aberdeen faces

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

Cold waves

51% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Aberdeen flood?

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

328paid claims since 1978

$2.5Mpaid to owners

12homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Late spring storms: 4 claims, $19K

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

🏷️ 05% off flood insurance. Aberdeen is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Brown County.

Disasters that hit Aberdeen

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AberdeenDeclared for Brown County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$766K to the City of Aberdeen for repairs

2010

Flooding

$282K to the City of Aberdeen for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$110K to the City of Aberdeen for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3,271 households applied for aid $5.2M aid approved $145K to the City of Aberdeen for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams

$8K to the City of Aberdeen for repairs

Brown County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Aberdeen

Aberdeen and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Aberdeenmostly cold wavesModerate

Bathmostly inland floodingLow

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. Aberdeen covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Aberdeen’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Aberdeen. 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 Aberdeen total about $10.0M 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.