Photo: Gary Chancey, Black Hills National Forest · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Lead faces more hazard damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lead gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns, #21 of 35 in South Dakota. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%). 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 Lead 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
Hail
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 Lead’s grade
River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lead, and Lead’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #21 of 35 in South Dakota; higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Lead’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical South Dakota town has higher expected damage than 58% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lead has more expected damage per building than 59% of South Dakota towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Lead: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lead flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lead. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lead isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lawrence County.The storms Lead remembers
None of the 11 disasters declared for Lawrence County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lead itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Lawrence County has had 11 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Lawrence County, 2002–2007.
Lead and its neighbors
Lead has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | C+more damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Deadwood | Dmore damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
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.
Get ready for what Lead 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Lead
Is Lead at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lead has higher expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #21 of 35 in South Dakota. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%) and wildfire (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Lead 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 Lawrence County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lead?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lead’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lead at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Lead’s rate for it is higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lead.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lead’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.