Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Sloan’s building-damage rate from tornadoes is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sloan gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then tornadoes (21%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Sloan faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Wildfire
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Sloan’s grade
River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sloan, and Sloan’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 21%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B− higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Sloan’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $954K a year in losses across Sloan: $423K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Sloan flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sloan. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Sloan isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Woodbury County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sloan
Disasters that paid out in Sloan itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Sloan), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes3 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2019Severe Storms and Flooding4 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2011Flooding15 households applied for aid$145K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm$3K to the City of Sloan for repairs
- 2007Snow$3K to the City of Sloan for repairs
Woodbury County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Sloan after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Sloan archive →Get ready for what Sloan faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Sloan
Is Sloan at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sloan has higher expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and tornadoes (21%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Sloan in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Woodbury County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Sloan?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sloan’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Sloan?
By FEMA money that reached Sloan, Flooding (2011): 15 households applied for aid, $145K approved.
Is Sloan at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Sloan’s rate for it is lower than 51% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sloan.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Sloan’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.