Lake Byron’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lake Byron comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Lake Byron’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Lake Byron flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lake Byron. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lake Byron isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Beadle County.How exposed is Lake Byron?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.
Rated higher than 831 of the 1,384 South Dakota towns we cover.
Lake Byron is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Lake Byron faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Drought
Cold waves
Tornadoes
Hail
3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Lake Byron
Disasters that paid out in Lake Byron itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Township of Lake Byron) and its biggest flood years.
- 2011Flooding$8K to the Township of Lake Byron for repairs
- 2010Flooding$5K to the Township of Lake Byron for repairs
- 2001Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$6K to the Township of Lake Byron for repairs
Beadle County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Lake Byron after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lake Byron archive →Get ready for what Lake Byron actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- On a well? Know how deep it is and watch for sputtering.
- Follow the town’s watering limits.
- Fix drips: they add up.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Lake Byron and its neighbors
Lake Byron ranks 3rd calmest of 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Byron | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Milford | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Pleasant View | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
| Antelope | Low | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in March–May
The month each of Beadle County’s 18 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Lake Byron’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Lake Byron.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Byron.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.