13 flood insurance claims·$99,601 paid·4 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 Billings 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 28 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 2011, with 11 claims and $80,602 paid, the year of 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Billings County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Flooding | Feb 14, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 20, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 13, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Record And/or Near Record Snow | Oct 4, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Flooding,severe Winter Storms, Snowmelt, Spring Rains | Feb 28, 1997 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Blizzard Conditions | Jan 3, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
6 since 1996: 3 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2016 | $15,000 |
| Flood | May 22, 2011 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2011 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Mar 6, 2009 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2003 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2002 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2016. Severe thunderstorms developed in the late morning over the southern James River Valley where elevated convection developed north of a warm front supported by a low level jet. Additional thunderstorms developed later in the afternoon into the evening over western and south central North Dakota as a short wave rotating around a closed upper low over central Montana pushed into the Northern Plains.
Flood · May 22, 2011. This was part of historic flooding in North Dakota with statewide costs estimated around 1.5 billion dollars. Flooding was the result of significant winter snows and significant spring rains. Flooding was along the Little Missouri River through Medora. Flooded were a number of homes and the buildings of the Badlands Ministries Bible Camp. Estimated damages were $50,000 and that is not all inclusive. A tremendous f…
Flash Flood · Jul 22, 2011. A severe thunderstorm outbreak materialized over west and south central North Dakota in the late afternoon and evening hours of July 22nd, lasting into the early morning hours of the 23rd. Tornado watch numbers 673, 674, and 675 were in effect for this event. A tornadic storm developed over south central North Dakota along a surface warm front. Much of the severe weather for this event originated over eastern Mont…
Flood · Mar 6, 2009. This devastating flooding continued into April, and in some cases worsened.||Western and central North Dakota experienced a snowy winter of 2008-2009. Bismarck, for example, had the snowiest December on record, which was also the snowiest month ever on record, with 33.3 inches of snow in December 2008. March 2009 was the fifth snowiest month on record with 29.7 inches. For the entire season Bismarck ended up the s…
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 Billings 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.