Natural hazards · Dayton

Dayton, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dayton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2014.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dayton?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dayton to be higher than in 54% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding44%Tornadoes31%Everything else24%

By hazard

What Dayton faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

31% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Dayton flood?

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

3paid claims since 2014

$362Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20142026

Biggest named events

June Midwest Flooding: 2 claims, $309K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lincoln County.

Disasters that hit Dayton

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Lincoln County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dayton itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into DaytonDeclared for Lincoln County only

Lincoln County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Dayton

Dayton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Cantonmostly inland floodingHigh

Daytonmostly inland floodingModerate

La Valleymostly inland floodingModerate

Harrisburgmostly tornadoesModerate

Springdalemostly tornadoesLow

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. Dayton covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Dayton’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Dayton. 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 Dayton total about $3.4M 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.