Natural hazards · Deadwood

Deadwood, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Deadwood comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1979. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Deadwood?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Deadwood to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding71%Wildfire12%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Deadwood faces

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

Inland flooding

71% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Deadwood flood?

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

4paid claims since 1979

$8Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lawrence County.

Disasters that hit Deadwood

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DeadwoodDeclared for Lawrence County only

2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$6.8M to the City of Deadwood for repairs

2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$84K to the City of Deadwood for repairs

Lawrence County has had 15 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. Deadwood 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 Deadwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Deadwood. 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.