Natural hazards · Belle Fourche

Belle Fourche, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Belle Fourche comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1982. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Belle Fourche?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Belle Fourche to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding38%Cold waves24%Wildfire13%Hail9%Strong wind7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Belle Fourche faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Wildfire

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Hail

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Belle Fourche flood?

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

6paid claims since 1982

$12Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19822026

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

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

Insurance rates: Butte County.

Disasters that hit Belle Fourche

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Belle FourcheDeclared for Butte County only

2022

Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$38K to the City of Belle Fourche for repairs

2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$135K to the City of Belle Fourche for repairs

2011

Flooding

$25K to the City of Belle Fourche for repairs

2008

Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow

$14K to the City of Belle Fourche for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$66K to the City of Belle Fourche for repairs

Butte County has had 18 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. Belle Fourche 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 Belle Fourche’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Belle Fourche. 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.