Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bottineau

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Tommy Turtle Bottineau ND 2024Photo: Billybob2002 · CC BY 4.0
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bottineau · FEMA

FEMA puts Bottineau’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bottineau gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 64%Winter storms 9%Ice storms 8%

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

less than 98%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A+
in North Dakota · lower than 98% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
64% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 25 declared for Bottineau County
By hazard

What Bottineau 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

64%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 93% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Winter storms

9%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Ice storms

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

8%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hail Wildfire Lightning Earthquakes Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 54% of Bottineau’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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); winter storms is FEMA’s “Winter Weather” (snow, sleet and freezing rain). 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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Bottineau’s grade

River and rain flooding is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bottineau, and Bottineau’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 93% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 9%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bottineau sits
Bottineau
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Bottineau’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding64%Winter storms9%Ice storms8%Everything else19%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Bottineau: $372K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bottineau’s 2,194 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Bottineau flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bottineau. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Bottineau isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Bottineau County.
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bottineau

Disasters that paid out in Bottineau itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Bottineau), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2011Flooding1 households applied for aid$2K to the City of Bottineau for repairs
  2. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$31K to the City of Bottineau for repairs
  3. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$903 to the City of Bottineau for repairs
  4. 2001Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$14K to the City of Bottineau for repairs
  5. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding and Ground Saturation$6K to the City of Bottineau for repairs
  6. 1999Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow, Ice, Ground Saturation, Lanslides, Mudslides, and Tor$27K to the City of Bottineau for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BottineauBottineau County only

Bottineau County has had 25 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Bottineau after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bottineau archive →
Next door

Bottineau and its neighbors

Bottineau has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Whitteron Township: not gradedPickering Township: not gradedWhitteron TownshipPickering TownshipBottineau
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BottineauA+less damage than 98%river and rain flooding0
Whitteron Township—570 residents; we grade 1,000+
Pickering Township—80 residents; we grade 1,000+

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Bottineau faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Winter storms
  • Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
  • Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
  • Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Ice storms
  • Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
  • Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
  • Keep sand or salt by the door.
More from Ready.gov ↗
High winds
  • Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
  • Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
  • Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Bottineau

Is Bottineau at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bottineau has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (64%) and winter storms (9%). 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 Bottineau 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 Bottineau County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Bottineau?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bottineau’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 Bottineau?

By FEMA money that reached Bottineau, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation (2005): $31K to the City of Bottineau for repairs.

Is Bottineau at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Bottineau’s rate for it is lower than 93% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bottineau.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bottineau’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.