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South Dakota natural disaster risk

Ratings for all 66 counties, the federal disaster record and flood insurance across the state.

64major disasters since 1953 (18th most)

$768Mexpected losses a year

0.5%of homes with flood insurance

Photo: U.S. Geological Survey, public domain

South Dakota has had 64 major federal disaster declarations for natural events since 1953. FEMA expects about $768 million a year in losses from natural hazards across the state. Inland flooding is the costliest hazard in 35 of its 66 counties, followed by cold wave in 24. None is rated Very High overall. About 0.5% of homes carry federal flood insurance, and the program has paid $62.1 million on 3,965 claims here since 1978.

Very High0counties

High0counties

Moderate1counties

Low15counties

Highest overall risk

1Minnehaha CountyModerate

2Dewey CountyLow

3Pennington CountyLow

4Brown CountyLow

5Yankton CountyLow

Lowest risk (50,000+ people)

1Lincoln CountyLow

2Pennington CountyLow

3Minnehaha CountyModerate

Top hazards

Inland floodingtop risk in 35 counties

Cold wavetop risk in 24 counties

Wildfiretop risk in 3 counties

Recent federal declarations

All states ›

Sep 1, 2026Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and FloodingMajor disaster

Sep 1, 2026Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and FloodingMajor disaster

Largest counties

Minnehaha County

196,891 people

Moderate Tornado

Pennington County

109,015 people

Low Inland flooding

Lincoln County

65,123 people

Low Tornado

Brown County

38,265 people

Low Cold wave

Brookings County

34,375 people

Low Inland flooding

Meade County

29,730 people

Low Inland flooding

Codington County

28,315 people

Low Inland flooding

Lawrence County

25,743 people

Low Inland flooding

Yankton County

23,308 people

Low Inland flooding

Davison County

19,950 people

Very Low Inland flooding

Beadle County

19,129 people

Low Inland flooding

Hughes County

17,751 people

Very Low Inland flooding

Cities in South Dakota

All 3 cities ›

Sioux Falls201,469 Rapid City77,946 Aberdeen28,189

All 66 counties

Name	People	Overall risk	Top hazard	Declarations	Homes insured
Aurora County	2,747	Very Low	Cold wave	21	0.1%
Beadle County	19,129	Low	Inland flooding	19	0.1%
Bennett County	3,380	Very Low	Wildfire	13	0%
Bon Homme County	6,996	Very Low	Drought	14	0%
Brookings County	34,375	Low	Inland flooding	19	0.4%
Brown County	38,265	Low	Cold wave	17	0.7%
Brule County	5,033	Low	Cold wave	19	0%
Buffalo County	1,948	Very Low	Cold wave	19	0%
Butte County	10,241	Very Low	Inland flooding	19	0.7%
Campbell County	1,375	Very Low	Inland flooding	13	0.1%
Charles Mix County	9,373	Low	Cold wave	15	0.1%
Clark County	3,828	Very Low	Cold wave	20	0.7%
Clay County	14,967	Very Low	Inland flooding	17	0.1%
Codington County	28,315	Low	Inland flooding	21	1.9%
Corson County	3,902	Very Low	Cold wave	14	0%
Custer County	8,303	Very Low	Wildfire	15	0.8%
Davison County	19,950	Very Low	Inland flooding	13	0.5%
Day County	5,449	Very Low	Cold wave	23	0.3%
Deuel County	4,285	Very Low	Inland flooding	22	0%
Dewey County	5,228	Low	Cold wave	14	0%
Douglas County	2,834	Very Low	Cold wave	16	0.1%
Edmunds County	3,952	Very Low	Cold wave	18	0%
Fall River County	6,903	Very Low	Inland flooding	14	0.2%
Faulk County	2,125	Very Low	Cold wave	15	0.1%
Grant County	7,556	Very Low	Cold wave	20	0.2%
Gregory County	3,989	Very Low	Cold wave	20	0%
Haakon County	1,867	Very Low	Inland flooding	14	0.5%
Hamlin County	6,164	Very Low	Inland flooding	20	1.7%
Hand County	3,140	Very Low	Cold wave	20	0.1%
Hanson County	3,461	Very Low	Inland flooding	23	0.2%
Harding County	1,311	Very Low	Inland flooding	13	0%
Hughes County	17,751	Very Low	Inland flooding	15	0.4%
Hutchinson County	7,420	Low	Drought	22	0.3%
Hyde County	1,257	Very Low	Inland flooding	13	0%
Jackson County	2,801	Very Low	Inland flooding	20	0%
Jerauld County	1,663	Very Low	Cold wave	19	0.1%
Jones County	917	Very Low	Inland flooding	13	0%
Kingsbury County	5,183	Very Low	Inland flooding	23	0.2%
Lake County	11,059	Very Low	Inland flooding	18	2.1%
Lawrence County	25,743	Low	Inland flooding	15	0.6%
Lincoln County	65,123	Low	Tornado	15	0.3%
Lyman County	3,715	Very Low	Cold wave	14	0.1%
Marshall County	4,275	Very Low	Cold wave	18	0%
McCook County	5,682	Low	Inland flooding	19	0.4%
McPherson County	2,411	Very Low	Cold wave	15	0%
Meade County	29,730	Low	Inland flooding	19	0.5%
Mellette County	1,879	Very Low	Inland flooding	12	0%
Miner County	2,298	Very Low	Inland flooding	18	0%
Minnehaha County	196,891	Moderate	Tornado	15	0.3%
Moody County	6,336	Very Low	Inland flooding	19	0.4%
Oglala Lakota County	13,666	Low	Wildfire	14	0%
Pennington County	109,015	Low	Inland flooding	19	0.6%
Perkins County	2,834	Very Low	Cold wave	19	0%
Potter County	2,466	Very Low	Cold wave	14	0%
Roberts County	10,217	Very Low	Inland flooding	22	0.5%
Sanborn County	2,329	Very Low	Inland flooding	20	0.1%
Spink County	6,353	Very Low	Inland flooding	21	0.2%
Stanley County	2,972	Very Low	Inland flooding	13	7.3%
Sully County	1,446	Very Low	Inland flooding	14	0%
Todd County	9,304	Very Low	Inland flooding	11	0%
Tripp County	5,612	Very Low	Cold wave	18	0%
Turner County	8,673	Very Low	Inland flooding	24	0.4%
Union County	16,799	Very Low	Inland flooding	17	2.5%
Walworth County	5,315	Very Low	Cold wave	10	0%
Yankton County	23,308	Low	Inland flooding	14	0.9%
Ziebach County	2,413	Very Low	Cold wave	19	0.2%

Linked names have a full page. Overall risk from the FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); declarations are federal disaster and emergency declarations for natural events since 1953 (OpenFEMA); homes insured is the share with NFIP flood policies.