Natural hazards · Cottonwood

Cottonwood, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cottonwood comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cottonwood?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cottonwood to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding45%Cold waves17%Wildfire10%Strong wind9%Ice storms6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Cottonwood faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once 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

10% of expected damage

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

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter 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 Cottonwood flood?

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

Disasters that hit Cottonwood

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CottonwoodDeclared for Jackson County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$11K to the Town of Cottonwood for repairs

Jackson County has had 19 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. Cottonwood 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 Cottonwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cottonwood. 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.