Natural hazards · Box Elder

Box Elder, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Box Elder comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1986. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Box Elder?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Box Elder to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves17%Wildfire11%Hail10%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Box Elder faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Wildfire

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Hail

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Box Elder flood?

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

16paid claims since 1986

$139Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19862026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pennington County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Box Elder

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Box ElderDeclared for Pennington County only

2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$50K to the City of Box Elder for repairs

Pennington County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Box Elder

Box Elder and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Rapid Valleymostly inland floodingHigh

Box Eldermostly inland floodingModerate

Rapid Citymostly inland floodingLow

Ashland Heightsmostly 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. Box Elder covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Box Elder’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Box Elder. 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 Box Elder total about $980K 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.