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Natural hazards · Howard

Howard, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Howard comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Howard?

29
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Howard to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding25%Drought23%Cold waves20%Tornadoes16%Hail7%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Howard faces

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

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Drought

23% of expected damage
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Howard flood?

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

Disasters that hit Howard

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HowardDeclared for Miner County only
2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$17K to the Township of Howard for repairs
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$24K to the Township of Howard for repairs
2011

Flooding

$15K to the Township of Howard for repairs
2010

Flooding

$20K to the Township of Howard for repairs
2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$21K to the Township of Howard for repairs
Miner County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Howard

Howard and the towns around it

Vilas: Low, mostly inland floodingRoswell: Low, mostly inland floodingAdams: Low, mostly inland floodingCanova: Low, mostly inland floodingClearwater: Low, mostly inland floodingRock Creek: Low, mostly inland floodingGreen Valley: Low, mostly inland floodingClinton: Low, mostly inland floodingGrafton: Low, mostly inland floodingHenden: Low, mostly inland floodingVermillion: Low, mostly inland floodingPearl: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWinfred: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHoward: Low, mostly inland flooding HowardVilasRoswellAdamsCanovaClearwater
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Howardmostly inland floodingLow
Vilasmostly inland floodingLow
Roswellmostly inland floodingLow
Adamsmostly inland floodingLow
Canovamostly inland floodingLow
Clearwatermostly 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. Howard 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 Howard’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Howard. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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