Natural hazards · Greenland

Greenland, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Greenland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Greenland?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding63%Tornadoes17%Drought5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Greenland faces

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

Inland flooding

63% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Drought

5% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Greenland flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: McCook County.

Disasters that hit Greenland

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into GreenlandDeclared for McCook County only

McCook County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Greenland

Greenland and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Greenlandmostly inland floodingModerate

Canistotamostly inland floodingModerate

Spring Valleymostly inland floodingModerate

Montrosemostly inland floodingModerate

Humboldtmostly 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. Greenland 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 Greenland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Greenland. 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.