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FEMA flood zones · North Dakota

Golden Valley County, North Dakota Flood Zone Map

2 flood insurance claims·$0 paid·5 federal flood & hurricane disasters

Less than 1% of Golden Valley County’s area is in FEMA’s high-risk flood zones.

Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.

Coastal high risk (V, VE)FloodwayHigh risk (A, AE)Moderate (X, 500-year)Minimal (X)Undetermined (D)

Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Golden Valley 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 their words

1 NOAA storm reports from Golden Valley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →

Federal disasters

13 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.

DisasterBegan
FloodingApr 10, 2023
Severe Winter Storm And FloodingApr 22, 2022
Severe Winter StormJan 20, 2010
Severe Winter Storm And Record And/or Near Record SnowOct 4, 2005
Hurricane Katrina EvacuationAug 29, 2005
Severe Storms, Flooding, & Ground SaturationMar 1, 2001
Severe Winter Storms And TornadoesNov 1, 2000
Severe Flooding,severe Winter Storms, Snowmelt, Spring RainsFeb 28, 1997

Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.

Recorded flood events

6 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.

EventDateDamage
FloodApr 11, 2023$140,000
FloodMar 17, 2003—
Flash FloodJun 8, 2002—
Flash FloodJul 25, 2001—

— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

From the storm reports

Flood · Apr 11, 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…

Flood · Mar 17, 2003. The Missouri River near Williston, and its tributaries, rose above flood stage on March 17th. The flooding was caused bymelting snow and ice jams. The flooding was aggravated by an ice storm and heavy rain across western and centralNorth Dakota on the 17th and 18th. Up to two and a half inches of rain fell in some areas. Numerous homes receivedwater damage and several families at Blacktail Dam, Williams county, ha…

National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.

The zones you’ll see on the map

Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.

Cross-section of a river floodplainDiagram: a river valley. The floodway is the channel and the land beside it; the 1%-annual-chance flood surface (the base flood elevation) covers the valley floor as zone A or AE; a narrow band higher up is shaded X, the 0.2% floodplain; higher ground is X.0.2% CHANCE A YEAR (500-YEAR)BASE FLOOD ELEVATION · 1% A YEARXAEFloodwayAEX
  1. A / AE Inside the 1%-a-year floodplain: about a 26% chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. AE has a mapped base flood elevation; plain A does not.
  2. Floodway The channel and the land beside it that has to be kept clear enough to carry the flood. Building here is tightly limited.
  3. X shaded The 0.2% (500-year) floodplain, plus some levee-protected and very shallow flood areas.
  4. X Outside both lines. No federal requirement to insure, which is not the same as no risk.

Every flood zone code explained →

Flood insurance in Golden Valley County

If a building in Golden Valley 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.