4 flood insurance claims·$2,914 paid·13 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 Mountrail 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.
Spring snowmelt and heavy summer rainfall drive the flood risk in Mountrail County, with NOAA records indicating 9 general floods and 7 flash floods over the last 30 years. Notable events include heavy multi-day rainfall in June 2014 that resulted in a Federal Disaster Declaration across the region, as well as slow-moving thunderstorms in June 2012 that produced flash flooding around Parshall over already saturated soils.
National Flood Insurance Program records for the county show claims concentrated in Zone A, with a total of 4 historical claims averaging 3 inches of recorded water depth and an average payout of $728.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, particularly those near low-lying areas, local streams, and locations vulnerable to rapid spring snowmelt and heavy rainfall accumulation.
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 3 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Mountrail County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 13 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 29, 2020 |
| Flooding | Oct 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 25, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 17, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Apr 29, 2011 |
| Flooding | Feb 14, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
16 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | $110,000 |
| Flood | Jun 28, 2014 | $254,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2013 | $65,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2012 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2011 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2011 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2011 | $100,000 |
| Flood | May 11, 2011 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · Jun 28, 2014. Very heavy rain continued over several days at the end of June. Three to five inches of rain fell from Minot through Sherwood, and from Crosby through Lignite to Stanley. The highest rain amount was seven inches from Renville County. Another high amount was 4.50 inches from Ward County. Damage was extensive. The state of North Dakota requested and was granted a Federal Disaster Declaration as a result of damages f…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2013. Tornado Watch number 428 was in effect during this event. ||An eastward moving surface cold front and upper level shortwave trough combined with strong instability and wind shear to trigger a severe weather outbreak across much of west and central North Dakota. Storms initiated during the mid afternoon over northwest North Dakota, and continued to develop east and south through the mid evening hours. Originally,…
Flash Flood · Jun 7, 2012. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon across central North Dakota along a north to south orientated stationary front. Convection was supported by a modest low level jet and afternoon destabilization ahead of a mid level longwave trough across the western United States. Large hail and severe thunderstorm winds occurred during this event. In addition, slow moving thunderstorms moving over alr…
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 Mountrail 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.