6 flood insurance claims·$20,331 paid·18 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 Dickey 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 2 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 3 claims and $0 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Dickey County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 18 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Straight-line Winds | Dec 25, 2023 |
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Straight-line Winds | Nov 9, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Flooding | Apr 1, 2020 |
| Flooding | Oct 9, 2019 |
| Flooding | Mar 21, 2019 |
| Flooding | Feb 14, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
13 since 1996: 8 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 16, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2018 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2016 | $60,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2013 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Jul 10, 2011 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 22, 2009 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Mar 6, 2009 | $99,000 |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2009 | $250,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 16, 2023. The spring snow melt of 2023 saw many areas of flooding over North Dakota due to a record deep snow pack and relatively fast melt. Multiple counties experienced infrastructure damage due to the flooding. In addition, during the morning hours of April 16, a flood death (direct) occurred as a 54 year old female was driving a 2004 Ford Escape along ND Highway 66 near the intersection of 47th Avenue NE, to the northwe…
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2018. Rain showers and low-topped thunderstorms produced torrential rain over south central Dickey County leading to flash flooding and sanitary sewer system backups in the city of Ellendale. The resulting flooding impacted 24 homes, two churches, and an apartment complex. Parts of Ellendale were flooded with several feet of water.
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.
Flash Flood · Jun 20, 2013. Very high atmospheric moisture and weak upper level flow led to slow moving and training thunderstorms across the James River Valley early in the morning of the 20th. The heavy rain resulted in flash flooding.
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 Dickey 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.