389 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·20 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 Barnes County, North Dakota. 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 from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Barnes County, North Dakota, supported by 17 flash flood events and 14 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years.
Historical NOAA reports document multiple severe weather episodes producing heavy rainfall across the region, including a cluster of thunderstorms on August 5, 2025, and slow-moving storms that tracked over the area between July 31 and August 1, 2011. These storms frequently combine heavy rain with strong winds and severe weather.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located within high-risk Zone A have experienced the highest impact, accounting for 255 claims with an average payout of $11,581 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Additional claims are distributed across Zone UNKNOWN with 86 claims averaging a $1,458 payout and 1 inch of average water depth, and Zone X with 44 claims averaging a $10,096 payout and 4 inches of average water depth. Homeowners and real estate professionals managing properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risk given the historical frequency of flash flooding and recorded claim payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Barnes County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
259 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 6 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 1993, with 83 claims and $172,420 paid, the year of Severe Storms & Flooding.
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 Barnes County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
35 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 20 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Aug 7, 2025 |
| Severe Storm, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Jun 20, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Straight-line Winds | Dec 25, 2023 |
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Flooding | Apr 1, 2020 |
| Flooding | Oct 9, 2019 |
| Flooding | Mar 21, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2013 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2013 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Aug 1, 2011 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2011 | $25,000 |
| Flood | May 25, 2010 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2010 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 5, 2025. A cluster of thunderstorms produced heavy rain and localized flash flooding over parts of southeast North Dakota during the evening. A wake low developed as this complex moved east with widespread 50 to 55 mph winds reported, and one brief high wind report of 58 mph at Fargo Airport.
Flash Flood · Jun 20, 2013. Several upper level disturbances in the southwest flow aloft helped to spark an episode of severe weather across eastern North Dakota and the northwest quarter of Minnesota. Numerous reports of large hail, strong winds, and heavy rain were received across these areas.
Flood · Apr 3, 2011. The winter of 2010-2011 generally brought above normal amounts of snow to the area, but particularly so for the Devils Lake basin, the Sheyenne River basin, and the Wild Rice River basin. By April 1st, snow water equivalents were estimated to be about four to six inches in these areas with about two to four inches elsewhere. A see-saw pattern of temperatures led to a generally slow April snowmelt. At Fargo, the fi…
Flood · Aug 1, 2011. This episode began late in the evening of July 31st and continued into the early morning hours of August 1st, as severe thunderstorms from central North Dakota moved into eastern North Dakota. Many of these storms showed a bow structure, or a structure indicative of strong winds. The storms were also slow movers and several rounds of them tracked over the same area. Hope, ND, was hit by both strong winds and very…
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 Barnes 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.