Most disaster-prone counties in North Dakota
North Dakota has 1,372 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 53 counties. The dominant hazard type is flood. Walsh County leads with 41 declarations, followed by Grand Forks County and Pembina County.
This ranking shows every county in North Dakota ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.
Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.
All counties by FEMA declaration count
| # | County | Declarations | Top hazard | First year | Latest year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsh County | 41 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 2 | Grand Forks County | 38 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 3 | Pembina County | 38 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 4 | Richland County | 37 | Flood | 1965 | 2024 |
| 5 | Ransom County | 36 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 6 | Traill County | 36 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 7 | Barnes County | 35 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 8 | Cass County | 35 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 9 | LaMoure County | 33 | Flood | 1966 | 2024 |
| 10 | Nelson County | 33 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 11 | Dickey County | 32 | Flood | 1966 | 2024 |
| 12 | McHenry County | 32 | Flood | 1966 | 2023 |
| 13 | Sargent County | 32 | Flood | 1966 | 2024 |
| 14 | Benson County | 31 | Flood | 1969 | 2020 |
| 15 | Steele County | 31 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 16 | Stutsman County | 31 | Flood | 1966 | 2025 |
| 17 | Ramsey County | 29 | Flood | 1966 | 2022 |
| 18 | Wells County | 29 | Flood | 1969 | 2025 |
| 19 | Towner County | 28 | Flood | 1969 | 2023 |
| 20 | Ward County | 28 | Flood | 1969 | 2022 |
| 21 | Bottineau County | 27 | Flood | 1969 | 2022 |
| 22 | Grant County | 27 | Severe Storm | 1966 | 2025 |
| 23 | Morton County | 27 | Flood | 1966 | 2025 |
| 24 | Mountrail County | 27 | Flood | 1969 | 2023 |
| 25 | Cavalier County | 26 | Severe Storm | 1969 | 2022 |
| 26 | Emmons County | 26 | Flood | 1969 | 2025 |
| 27 | Kidder County | 26 | Severe Storm | 1976 | 2025 |
| 28 | Logan County | 26 | Flood | 1969 | 2024 |
| 29 | Renville County | 25 | Flood | 1969 | 2022 |
| 30 | Rolette County | 25 | Flood | 1969 | 2022 |
| 31 | Eddy County | 24 | Flood | 1969 | 2025 |
| 32 | McKenzie County | 24 | Severe Storm | 1969 | 2024 |
| 33 | McLean County | 24 | Severe Storm | 1966 | 2025 |
| 34 | Mercer County | 24 | Flood | 1966 | 2023 |
| 35 | Foster County | 23 | Flood | 1969 | 2025 |
| 36 | Griggs County | 23 | Severe Storm | 1966 | 2025 |
| 37 | Pierce County | 23 | Flood | 1969 | 2020 |
| 38 | Burleigh County | 22 | Flood | 1969 | 2025 |
| 39 | Sheridan County | 22 | Severe Storm | 1969 | 2025 |
| 40 | Sioux County | 22 | Severe Storm | 1969 | 2025 |
| 41 | Burke County | 21 | Flood | 1969 | 2023 |
| 42 | McIntosh County | 21 | Severe Storm | 1969 | 2024 |
| 43 | Oliver County | 21 | Severe Storm | 1966 | 2025 |
| 44 | Hettinger County | 19 | Flood | 1966 | 2023 |
| 45 | Williams County | 19 | Flood | 1969 | 2024 |
| 46 | Dunn County | 18 | Severe Storm | 1969 | 2023 |
| 47 | Divide County | 16 | Flood | 1969 | 2022 |
| 48 | Stark County | 16 | Flood | 1966 | 2020 |
| 49 | Adams County | 15 | Severe Storm | 1978 | 2022 |
| 50 | Bowman County | 13 | Severe Storm | 1978 | 2020 |
| 51 | Golden Valley County | 13 | Flood | 1978 | 2023 |
| 52 | Billings County | 12 | Severe Storm | 1978 | 2022 |
| 53 | Slope County | 10 | Severe Storm | 1978 | 2020 |