10 flood insurance claims·$11,760 paid·3 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 Bowman 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 4 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Bowman County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Oct 4, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 20, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 13, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 2, 2007 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Record And/or Near Record Snow | Oct 4, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Tornadoes | Nov 1, 2000 |
| Severe Flooding,severe Winter Storms, Snowmelt, Spring Rains | Feb 28, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
4 since 1996: 1 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 6, 2009 | $37,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2008 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Jun 6, 2007 | $400,000 |
| Flood | Jul 26, 2001 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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…
Flash Flood · Jun 2, 2008. An isolated thunderstorm produced one severe hail report and flash flooding across Bowman County on Monday, June 2nd.
Flood · Jun 6, 2007. Thunderstorms followed by showers and then areas of steady rain on June 6 and 7 resulted in flooding in parts of southern North Dakota. Five to six (5 to 6) inches of rain was common over the two day period.
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 Bowman 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.