74 flood insurance claims·$970,159 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 Spink 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.
Long-term historical records show that river floods dominate the flood character of Spink County, SD, supported by 108 recorded flood events compared to 8 flash flood events over the last 30 years, resulting in 1 death.
Spring snowmelt serves as a primary driver for these high-water events, as demonstrated in April 2023 when mild temperatures following a record April snow depth of 26 inches melted snow over frozen ground and forced
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
42% of Spink County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
59 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 29 claims and $216,939 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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Spink County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Dakota flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 11, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding | Mar 13, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 19, 2013 |
| Flooding | Mar 11, 2011 |
| Flooding | Mar 10, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 11, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2007 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
116 since 1996: 8 flash floods and 108 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 19, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 18, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 17, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Aug 11, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 19, 2023. Snowmelt resulted in flooding along the James River and its associated tributaries. The National Weather Service recorded an April record snow depth of 26 inches in Aberdeen on the 5th. This was followed by near normal temperatures through the latter half of the month of April. This relatively mild warmup resulted in snowmelt on top of frozen ground, and forced most of the melt into the waterways. River gauges nea…
Flood · Apr 18, 2023. Snowmelt resulted in flooding along the James River and its associated tributaries. The National Weather Service recorded an April record snow depth of 26 inches in Aberdeen on the 5th. This was followed by near normal temperatures through the latter half of the month of April. This relatively mild warmup resulted in snowmelt on top of frozen ground, and forced most of the melt into the waterways. River gauges nea…
Flood · Apr 17, 2023. Snowmelt resulted in flooding along the James River and its associated tributaries. The National Weather Service recorded an April record snow depth of 26 inches in Aberdeen on the 5th. This was followed by near normal temperatures through the latter half of the month of April. This relatively mild warmup resulted in snowmelt on top of frozen ground, and forced most of the melt into the waterways. River gauges nea…
Flood · Aug 11, 2023. After heavy rainfall during the first half of August, the James river gauge at Ashton rose above flood stage on the morning of August 11th and remained in flood through August 21st. The river crested at 13.25 on August 18th, 0.25 feet above flood stage. This only impacted already previously flooded crop and pastures.
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 Spink 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.