FEMA’s New Risk Assessment Maps: 2 North Dakota Hot Spots

Just how risky is it to live in North Dakota when it comes to natural disasters?

Despite our long and cold winters, wildfires, wind, and hail storms, North Dakota is one of the safest places in the United States overall.

With that being said, we do have a couple of counties that fall into the relatively moderate at-risk category, which works out two Level 3 out of 5 levels of danger, according to FEMA (Level 5 being the most dangerous places to live).

Here's a look at that FEMA map for North Dakota and our surrounding/neighboring states.

As you can see by the map legend, there are 5 risk levels assessed by FEMA.  The only county in our region that scored in the relatively high category was Hennipen County in Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis.

The two most dangerous counties to live in North Dakota, according to FEMA are Cass and Grand Forks counties in North Dakota.

This includes the cities of Fargo and Grand Forks respectively.  What are the biggest dangers of living in these counties in North Dakota?

Cass County:

Overall-Relatively Moderate Dangerous.  The main concerns are as follows:

Coldwave-very high at 97.6 percent.

Hail-very high at 98.4 percent.

Ice storm-Relatively high 95.4 percent.

Flooding-Relatively high at 97.1 percent.

Strong winds-Very high at 99.7 percent.

Tornado-Relatively high at 93.6 percent (the most dangerous area in the state in this category).

Winter weather-Very high at 97.1 percent.

Grand Forks County:

Overall-Relatively Moderate Dangerous.  The main concerns are as follows:

Coldwave-Very high at 98.1 percent.

Hail-Relatively high at 97.0 percent.

Ice Storm-Relatively high at 95.2 percent.

Flooding-Relatively high at 96.4 percent.

Strong winds-Relatively high at 96.5 percent.

Winter weather-Relatively high at 92.9 percent.

The Capitol Region is an even safer place to live, as both Morton and Burleigh Counties fall into the Level 2 category "relatively low" as a dangerous place to live.

Morton County:

Coldwave-Relatively high at 94.7 percent.

Hail-Relatively high at 97.4 percent.

Ice Storm-Relatively high at 94.3 percent.

Winter weather-Very high at 98.2 percent (the most dangerous aspect of living in Morton County).

Burleigh County:

Coldwave-Relatively high at 94.7 percent.

Hail-Relatively high at 97.4 percent.

Ice Storm-Relatively high at 94.3 percent.

Winter weather-Very high at 98.2 percent (the most dangerous aspect of living in Burleigh County).

Again, overall, North Dakota is one of the safest places to live if you are assessing the risks associated with living in the Peace Garden State despite our roller coaster weather patterns, according to FEMA.