9 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 Buffalo County, South 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.
Flooding driven primarily by standard floods and severe flash flooding shapes the hydrological risks of the area. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records document 11 flood events and 7 flash flood events.
Recent weather patterns demonstrate the severe impacts of these events. In June 2024, thunderstorms dropped 3.56 inches of rain 4 miles east northeast of Shelby as part of a broad heavy rainfall system affecting the region. Earlier, in March 2019, above-normal winter snowfall, meltwater, ice jams, and heavy rains caused rivers and creeks to overflow, damaging regional roads and culverts while flooding fields, roads, and some structures. Continued snowmelt and a historic mid-April blizzard in 2019 extended widespread flooding that damaged infrastructure, impacted livestock, homes, and businesses, and delayed crop planting through June.
Property owners located near rivers, creeks, and low-lying agricultural fields, as well as residents whose properties experience poor drainage during heavy seasonal rains and spring snowmelt, should pay the closest attention to local flood risks and mitigation measures.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4 NOAA storm reports from Buffalo County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Dakota flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Mar 13, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 17, 2015 |
| Flooding | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Flooding | Mar 10, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 20, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 2, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
18 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2024 | $134,000 |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2019 | $17,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Jun 20, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Mar 15, 2011 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 20, 2024. Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall produced flooding across a broad swath of Lyman, Buffalo and Hand counties. In Lyman county, 7.46 inches was observed at a weather station 6 miles south southwest of Oacoma, while the South Dakota State University mesonet station near Oacoma recorded 5.51 inches. A CoCoRaHS observer 5 miles west southwest of Oacoma also observed 4.79 inches. In nearby Buffalo county, 3.56 inches o…
Flood · Mar 25, 2019. Much above normal winter snowfall and melt water/ice jams along with heavy rains in the middle of March brought flooding across parts of central and northeast South Dakota for late March. Rivers and creeks flooded across much of the area along with many fields and roads. The flooding damaged many of the roads and culverts across the region. Some structures were also flooded. Lake levels also rose threatening homes…
Flood · May 1, 2019. March and April snowmelt and heavy rain flooding along with above normal May precipitation resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of crops damaged or delayed/unplanted across central and northeast South Dakota. The widespread flooding continued into June with millions of dollars of loss.
Flood · Jun 1, 2019. Spring snowmelt and heavy rain flooding from March, April, and May continued into June. This combined with above normal June rainfall resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of crops damaged or unplanted across central and northeast South Dakota. For the entire state of South Dakota, nearly 4 million acres of crops were left unplanted as a result of the flooding. Total damaged or unplanted crop loss estimates f…
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 Buffalo 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.