Natural hazards · Castlewood

Castlewood, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Castlewood comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1978. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Castlewood?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Castlewood to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding46%Cold waves18%Tornadoes13%Strong wind9%Hail6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Castlewood faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Castlewood flood?

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

5paid claims since 1978

$39Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hamlin County.

Disasters that hit Castlewood

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CastlewoodDeclared for Hamlin County only

2022

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

$257K to the City of Castlewood for repairs

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$4K to the City of Castlewood for repairs

2011

Flooding

$34K to the City of Castlewood for repairs

Hamlin County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Castlewood

Castlewood and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Castlewoodmostly inland floodingModerate

Florencemostly inland floodingModerate

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