92 flood insurance claims·$1.1M paid·8 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Becker County, Minnesota. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding and standard flooding from summer thunderstorms and low pressure systems dominate the flood history of Becker County, MN, accounting for 16 flash flood events and 12 flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recorded events include a May 2012 storm system that dropped two to six inches of rain, causing water to flow over fields, roads, and town streets, as well as thunderstorms on May 11, 2022, that produced localized street flooding.
NFIP claim data shows that properties in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED have experienced the highest volume of insurance claims, with 51 claims averaging an interior water depth of 3 inches and $12,519 in payouts for Zone X, and 39 claims averaging an interior water depth of 6 inches and $20,521 in payouts for Zone X_UNSHADED. Zone A recorded 1 claim with an average water depth of 4 inches and a $20,000 payout, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 1 claim with an average water depth of 0 inches and a $12,748 payout. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED should pay the most attention to flood risk, as these zones account for the vast majority of historical claims in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
98% of Becker County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
40 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 5 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1998, with 38 claims and $550,449 paid.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
10 NOAA storm reports from Becker County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2009 |
| Flooding | Mar 30, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | Jun 9, 2002 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Mar 23, 2001 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 17, 2000 |
| Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms | Mar 21, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
28 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2016 | $2,000 |
| Flood | May 27, 2012 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2011 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2011 | $4,000 |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2011 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2010 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 11, 2022. A pre-frontal trough brought thunderstorms into the area during the evening of May 11. Isolated severe thunderstorms brought hail up to 1.5 inches and wind gusts of 58 mph, along with localized street flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2016. By the early evening of July 11th, surface low pressure was located over northeast South Dakota, with a warm front extending out to the east into Minnesota. Slow moving thunderstorms formed north of the warm front and dropped large amounts of rain. Other thunderstorms formed later, along a line from Jamestown to Devils Lake to Rock Lake. One storm along this line produced strong winds from Langdon to Walhalla, in…
Flood · May 27, 2012. In the early morning hours of the 27th, an 850mb warm front was draped west to east across southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota. A strong low level jet kept redeveloping bands of strong thunderstorms, which dropped heavy amounts of rain from Moorhead to Perham to Wadena. A wide swath of two to six inches of rain fell along this line, which resulted in water flowing over fields and roads as well as str…
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2011. Another night in the long duration heat wave brought another round of nocturnal convection. Early in the morning of the 19th, a weak surface boundary set up across northern South Dakota into west central Minnesota. As the low level jet and warm advection increased after midnight, thunderstorms began to fire. The air mass was extremely unstable with precipitable water values over two inches. The thunderstorms moved…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Becker County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.