F. M. Walcott House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Valentine’s building-damage rate from wildfire is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Valentine gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, #8 of 57 in Nebraska. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%), then wildfire (24%). 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 Valentine 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
Wildfire
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.
What’s behind Valentine’s grade
River and rain flooding is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Valentine, and Valentine’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 24%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
B #8 of 57 in Nebraska; lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Valentine’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Nebraska town has higher expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Valentine has less expected damage per building than 88% of Nebraska towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.7M a year in losses across Valentine: $881K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Valentine flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Valentine. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
The storms Valentine remembers
None of the 7 disasters declared for Cherry County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Valentine itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Cherry County has had 7 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Cherry County, 2006–2006.
Get ready for what Valentine 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.
- 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.
- 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 Valentine
Is Valentine at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Valentine has lower expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #8 of 57 in Nebraska. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%) and wildfire (24%). 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 Valentine 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.
How much is flood insurance in Valentine?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Valentine’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Valentine at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Valentine’s rate for it is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Valentine.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Valentine’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.