Natural hazards · Salem

Salem, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Salem comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 2019. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Salem?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Salem 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 Salem 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 Salem flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Salem, from FEMA’s records.

5paid claims since 2019

$57Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20192026

Biggest named events

June Midwest Flooding: 1 claim, $3K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Salem 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 Salem

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SalemDeclared for McCook County only

2024

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$21K to the City of Salem for repairs

2022

Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$39K to the City of Salem for repairs

2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

16 households applied for aid $28K aid approved $8K to the City of Salem for repairs

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

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. Salem 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 Salem’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Salem. 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.