Natural hazards · Gary

Gary, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gary comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gary?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gary to be higher than in 36% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding34%Cold waves20%Tornadoes16%Hail9%Wildfire5%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Gary faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Ice 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 Gary flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Deuel County.

Disasters that hit Gary

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GaryDeclared for Deuel County only

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$9K to the City of Gary for repairs

2005

Severe Winter Storm

$27K to the City of Gary for repairs

Deuel County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Gary

Gary and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Floridamostly inland floodingModerate

Garymostly inland floodingLow

Herrickmostly inland floodingLow

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