2 flood insurance claims·$35,480 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 Roberts 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.
Standard riverine and general floods dominate the local hazard profile, accounting for 30 out of 43 recorded events over the last 30 years, alongside 12 flash flood events and 1 lakeshore flood. Severe weather patterns drive these occurrences, as seen in June 2025 when a broad low-pressure system and multiple thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall, washed-out roads, and rising water reaching residential foundations.
NFIP claim records indicate that property impacts extend across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A recorded 25 claims with an average water depth of 12 inches and an average payout of $16,310. Meanwhile, Zone X properties experienced 19 claims with an average water depth of 5 inches and an average payout of $8,810, and unknown zones logged 5 claims averaging 2 inches of water depth and a $684 payout.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within FEMA Zone A, where average water depths and insurance payouts are highest, though properties in Zone X also face measurable flood risk from heavy precipitation and runoff events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
The worst year was 2010, with 15 claims and $238,029 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storm and 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Roberts County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Dakota flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 9, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 12, 2022 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 12, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Mar 13, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 24, 2016 |
| Flooding | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Flooding | Mar 10, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 20, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
43 since 1996: 12 flash floods, 30 river or area floods and 1 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2023 | $150,000 |
| Flood | May 10, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 25, 2025. On June 25th, multiple thunderstorms from the morning into the early afternoon caused flooding in parts of northeast South Dakota. A CoCoRaHS observer 4 miles south-southeast of Milbank recorded 3.33 inches of rain, while the COOP observer in Milbank measured 3.25 inches. Grant County Emergency Management sent photos of washed-out roads, and a resident near Ortley documented water reaching a home's foundation.||Th…
Flood · Jun 13, 2025. A broad low-pressure system brought several rounds of rain and a few strong, isolated thunderstorms to northeast South Dakota. The rain began on the morning of June 12th. A break in the rain mid-day allowed the atmosphere to destabilize, which led to stronger storms in the afternoon. One storm produced penny-sized hail 3 miles west of Blunt. Another storm in Mansfield produced penny to nickel-sized hail and winds…
Flash Flood · Jun 13, 2025. A broad low-pressure system brought several rounds of rain and a few strong, isolated thunderstorms to northeast South Dakota. The rain began on the morning of June 12th. A break in the rain mid-day allowed the atmosphere to destabilize, which led to stronger storms in the afternoon. One storm produced penny-sized hail 3 miles west of Blunt. Another storm in Mansfield produced penny to nickel-sized hail and winds…
Flash Flood · Aug 5, 2025. A line of storms produced large hail and high winds during the afternoon and evening of August 5th, and into the early morning hours of August 6th. The largest sized hail measured at 3 inches in diameter was observed in Hoven. Later in the evening, a peak wind gust of 99 mph was recorded on a weather station out at Sandy Shore State Park, while the Watertown Regional Airport ASOS would record a peak gust of 68 mph…
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 Roberts 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.