Natural hazards · Lesterville

Lesterville, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lesterville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Lesterville?

66
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lesterville to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding29%Drought28%Tornadoes15%Hail10%Cold waves9%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Lesterville faces

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

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Drought

28% of expected damage
Recorded about 25 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Hail

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 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 Lesterville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Lesterville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Yankton County.
Disasters that hit Lesterville

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LestervilleDeclared for Yankton County only
2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $13K aid approved $12K to the Town of Lesterville for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$771 to the Town of Lesterville for repairs
2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $700 aid approved
Yankton 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. Lesterville 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 Lesterville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Lesterville. 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/18 · 2025-01-01