610 flood insurance claims·$3.7M paid·25 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 Pembina 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 and general flooding dominate Pembina County, accounting for 43 events compared to 13 flash flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. This flood risk is frequently driven by snowmelt, as demonstrated by events in April 2023 when snowmelt flooding along North Dakota tributaries began in mid-April and persisted into early May.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims distributed across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A experienced the highest average payouts at $12,527 and the deepest recorded water at an average of 21 inches. Zones classified as Unknown, X Shaded, X, and X Unshaded recorded lower average payouts ranging from $4,039 to $7,305 and average water depths between 2 and 5 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, which face significantly higher average flood depths and claim payouts than properties in other zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
48% of Pembina County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
322 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 6 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 1997, with 313 claims and $2.3M paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms and Blizzard Conditions and Severe Flooding,severe Winter Storms, Snowmelt, Spring Rains.
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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Pembina County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Dakota flood stories →
38 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 25 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Flooding | Apr 1, 2020 |
| Flooding | Mar 21, 2019 |
| Flooding | Mar 23, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 17, 2013 |
| Flooding | Apr 22, 2013 |
| Flooding | Apr 5, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 13 flash floods and 43 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 28, 2023 | $174,000 |
| Flood | Apr 27, 2023 | $174,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 20, 2023 | $174,000 |
| Flood | Apr 17, 2023 | $174,000 |
| Flood | Apr 15, 2023 | $174,000 |
| Flood | May 1, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 20, 2019 | $250,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 28, 2023. Snowmelt flooding along the North Dakota Tributaries began in mid-April, with a few locations persisting into early May. These points are crests from the end of April.
Flood · Apr 27, 2023. Snowmelt flooding along the North Dakota Tributaries began in mid-April, with a few locations persisting into early May. These points are crests from the end of April.
Flash Flood · Jun 25, 2023. Doppler radar picked up on 3.5 to 7 inches of rain from storms in Northeastern North Dakota.
Flood · Apr 20, 2023. Spring snowmelt flooding began in mid to late April in most locations, then persisted into early May.
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 Pembina 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.