Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Pembina
Pembina isn’t graded for hazard risk: Pembina has 625 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 135 claims here since 1978.
What Pembina 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
Ice storms
Tornadoes
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.
Does Pembina flood? Yes: 135 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pembina, from FEMA’s records.
Pembina isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pembina County.11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Pembina
Disasters that paid out in Pembina itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Pembina), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Flooding$11K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2022Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$86K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2011Flooding$35K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2010Flooding$12K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2010Flooding$12K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding10 households applied for aid$523 aid approved$88K to the City of Pembina for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 11
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$21K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$16K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$2K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 2001Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ground Saturation$14K to the City of Pembina for repairs
- 1999Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow, Ice, Ground Saturation, Lanslides, Mudslides, and Tor$4K to the City of Pembina for repairs
Pembina County has had 33 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 Pembina after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pembina archive →Get ready for what Pembina 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Pembina
Does Pembina flood?
Flood insurance has paid 135 claims in Pembina since 1978, $779K in all. 2 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Pembina 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 Pembina County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pembina?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pembina’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 Pembina?
By FEMA money that reached Pembina, Severe Storms and Flooding (2009): 10 households applied for aid, $523 approved, and $88K to the City of Pembina for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pembina.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pembina’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.