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Chamberlain BridgeChamberlain Bridge · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Chamberlain · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Chamberlain faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chamberlain gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1997.

River and rain flooding 77%Tornadoes 8%Wildfire 5%

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

more than 58%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in South Dakota · higher than 58% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
77% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 1997 · $142K
Disasters paid out here
5
of 18 declared for Brule County
By hazard

What Chamberlain 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

77%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Strong wind Hail Winter storms top 1% Ice storms Earthquakes Lightning Cold waves Heat waves top 4% 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 83% of Chamberlain’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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). 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 Chamberlain’s grade

River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Chamberlain, and Chamberlain’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 5%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Chamberlain sits
Chamberlain
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding77%Tornadoes8%Wildfire5%Everything else10%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $7.8M a year in losses across Chamberlain: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Chamberlain’s 2,473 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 Chamberlain flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1997

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chamberlain, from FEMA’s records: 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 80% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1997: 1 claim1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims1997
19972026
1
paid claims since 1997
$142K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$142K
average claim
Disasters

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chamberlain

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

  1. 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$2.7M to the City of Chamberlain for repairs
  2. 2019Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$48K to the City of Chamberlain for repairs
  3. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$1.0M to the City of Chamberlain for repairs
  4. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$12K to the City of Chamberlain for repairs
  5. 2011Flooding$175K to the City of Chamberlain for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ChamberlainBrule County only

Brule County has had 18 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Chamberlain archive →
Next door

Chamberlain and its neighbors

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

Chamberlain Township: not gradedOacoma: not gradedChamberlain TownshipOacomaChamberlain
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
ChamberlainC+more damage than 58%river and rain flooding1
Chamberlain Township—307 residents; we grade 1,000+
Oacoma—548 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 Chamberlain 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 ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
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 Chamberlain

Is Chamberlain at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chamberlain has higher expected damage per building than 58% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and tornadoes (8%). 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.

Does Chamberlain flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Chamberlain since 1997, $142K in all, or 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 80% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Chamberlain 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 Chamberlain?

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

By FEMA money that reached Chamberlain, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2024): $2.7M to the City of Chamberlain for repairs.

Is Chamberlain at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Chamberlain’s rate for it is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chamberlain.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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