Natural hazards · Scenic

Scenic, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Scenic comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Scenic?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Scenic to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding52%Wildfire15%Cold waves12%Hail9%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Scenic faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Scenic flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pennington County.

Disasters that hit Scenic

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ScenicDeclared for Pennington County only

2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$16K to the Township of Scenic for repairs

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

Around Scenic

Scenic and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Scenicmostly inland floodingHigh

Imlaymostly inland floodingHigh

Crooked Creekmostly inland floodingHigh

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