5 flood insurance claims·$23,044 paid·10 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 Griggs 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.
River flooding and flash flooding from slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk in Griggs County, with NOAA records detailing 13 flood events and 7 flash flood events over the past 30 years. Severe spring flooding occurred in March 2010 due to above-normal winter snowfall combined with unseasonably warm temperatures that accelerated melting. Subsequent heavy rainfall and slow-moving storms caused additional significant flooding and flash flooding in July and August 2011, accompanied by damaging winds in areas such as Hope.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have been filed in zones designated as Unknown, Zone X, and Zone X Unshaded. Averages across these claims show recorded water depths of 1 inch in Zone Unknown (with an average payout of $1,180), 1 inch in Zone X (with an average payout of $8,829), and 0 inches in Zone X Unshaded (with an average payout of $3,026). Homeowners and real estate agents in moderate-to-low risk zones, as well as properties with unclassified flood zones, should pay attention to these historical flood and flash flood patterns when evaluating property vulnerability.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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 2 claims and $17,657 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Griggs County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 10 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 Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Flooding | Oct 9, 2019 |
| Flooding | Feb 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 13, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Ground Saturation | Jun 1, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 10, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Aug 1, 2011 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2011 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2010 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 18, 2010 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2009 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2009 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2007 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 10, 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…
Flash 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…
Flash Flood · May 23, 2010. By early evening of the 22nd, a triple point had formed over north central South Dakota, with a surface boundary extending to its north and south. A warm front extended to the southeast, or down into southwest Minnesota. Near this triple point, temperatures had warmed into the mid to upper 80s with dew points in the mid to upper 60s. The heat and humidity was more limited in eastern North Dakota and the northwest…
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 Griggs 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.