Natural hazards · Gettysburg

Gettysburg, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gettysburg comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Gettysburg?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gettysburg to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves45%Inland flooding37%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Gettysburg faces

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

Cold waves

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Gettysburg flood?

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

Disasters that hit Gettysburg

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GettysburgDeclared for Potter County only

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Storm

$8K to the City of Gettysburg for repairs

Potter County has had 14 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. Gettysburg 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 Gettysburg’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gettysburg. 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.