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Natural hazards · Waubay

Waubay, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waubay comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 87 claims here since 1998. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Waubay?

41
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waubay to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding34%Cold waves27%Strong wind14%Tornadoes9%Wildfire5%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Waubay faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

27% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about 14 times a year in the area

Strong wind

14% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Waubay flood?

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

87paid claims since 1998
$1.1Mpaid to owners
8homes flooded more than once
19982026

Biggest named events

  • Severe flooding: 1 claim, $1K
  • Late spring storms: 1 claim, $76K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

66flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
9flood-prone homes bought out and moved
1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Waubay

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaubayDeclared for Day County only
2023

Flooding

$16K to the City of Waubay for repairs
2019

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$15K to the City of Waubay for repairs
2011

Flooding

$529K to the City of Waubay for repairs
2010

Flooding

$49K to the City of Waubay for repairs
2005

Severe Winter Storm

$4K to the City of Waubay for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams

$3K to the City of Waubay for repairs
Day County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Waubay

Waubay and the towns around it

Waubay: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCentral Point: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRacine: Moderate, mostly inland floodingKosciusko: Moderate, mostly inland floodingAlto: Moderate, mostly cold wavesOrtley: Moderate, mostly cold wavesOrtley: Moderate, mostly cold wavesEgeland: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMorton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWaubay: Moderate, mostly inland flooding WaubayWaubayCentral Point
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Waubaymostly inland floodingModerate
Waubaymostly inland floodingModerate
Central Pointmostly 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. Waubay 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 Waubay’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Waubay. 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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