Natural hazards · Pearl

Pearl, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pearl 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 Pearl?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pearl to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding61%Tornadoes17%Drought6%Cold waves6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Pearl faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Pearl flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Pearl 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 Pearl

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into PearlDeclared for McCook County only

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

Around Pearl

Pearl and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Spring Lakemostly inland floodingModerate

Pearlmostly inland floodingModerate

Bentonmostly inland floodingModerate

Sun Prairiemostly inland floodingModerate

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