Natural hazards · Lake Madison

Lake Madison, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lake Madison 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 Lake Madison?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lake Madison to be higher than in 56% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding45%Tornadoes24%Cold waves13%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Lake Madison faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Lake Madison flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lake County.

Disasters that hit Lake Madison

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into Lake MadisonDeclared for Lake County only

Lake County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Lake Madison

Lake Madison and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lake Madisonmostly inland floodingModerate

Wentworthmostly inland floodingModerate

Lake Viewmostly inland floodingModerate

Chestermostly inland floodingModerate

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. Lake Madison 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 Lake Madison’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Lake Madison. 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.