Natural hazards · Bowdle

Bowdle, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bowdle comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bowdle?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bowdle to be higher than in 25% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding31%Cold waves26%Tornadoes9%Hail8%Wildfire7%Strong wind6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Bowdle faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

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

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice 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 Bowdle flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Edmunds County.

Disasters that hit Bowdle

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BowdleDeclared for Edmunds County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$23K to the City of Bowdle for repairs

2016

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the City of Bowdle for repairs

2011

Flooding

$16K to the City of Bowdle for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storm

$4K to the City of Bowdle for repairs

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