216 flood insurance claims·$2.8M paid·17 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 Morton 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.
Riverine flooding and flash flooding from storms characterize the flood risks in Morton County, based on 13 recorded flood events and 9 flash flood events over the last 30 years. Notable historical events include an ice jam along the Heart River in the Mandan area that caused agricultural damage and damaged one home from March 22 to 26, 2019. Additionally, significant statewide flooding occurred along the Missouri River from the Garrison Dam to the South Dakota border starting on August 1, 2011, driven by heavy winter snows, Rocky Mountain snowpack, and spring rains.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows varying impacts across different zones. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 89 claims with an average water depth of 3 inches and an average payout of $2,283. Zone X accounted for 73 claims averaging 8 inches of water depth and $25,291 in payouts. Zone A saw 42 claims with an average water depth of 15 inches and an average payout of $38,746. Zone X_SHADED recorded 8 claims averaging 1 inch of water depth and $18,172 in payouts, while Zone X_UNSHADED logged 3 claims with an average water depth of 84 inches and an average payout of $3,375.
Residents with properties near rivers and those located in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, as these areas experience higher average water depths and larger insurance payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
21% of Morton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
53 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 8 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 88 claims and $2.4M 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Morton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 17 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Jun 20, 2025 |
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Flooding | Mar 21, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Oct 4, 2013 |
| Flooding | Apr 5, 2011 |
| Flooding | Feb 14, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Apr 1, 2010 |
| Flooding | Feb 26, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 14, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | $450,000 |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2019 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2011 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 12, 2011 | $40,000 |
| Flood | Jun 2, 2011 | $10.0M |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2011 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 14, 2025. A low-pressure center moved north from South Dakota to North Dakota with a warm front lifting to the north. This resulted in strong low-level wind shear over central North Dakota. This shear combined with low cloud bases caused by a high amount of moisture in the lower atmosphere to produce multiple low-topped supercells which produced a low amount of lighting. From these supercells, 20 tornadoes developed over ce…
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 22, 2019. Ice jam related high water created flooding along the Heart River in the Mandan area of Morton County from March 22 to March 26. Most flood damages were limited to agriculture with over 1,000 large round bales of hay destroyed and four sheep lost, but there was also one home damaged.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2011. Tornado Watch Number 706 and Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 707 were in effect for this event. ||A strong capping inversion initially prevented storms from developing across North Dakota. Eventually, severe storms over northwest South Dakota continued to propagate northeast into far southwest and south central North Dakota during the mid to late evening as a surface warm front lifted north. These storms continue…
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 Morton 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.