Benson County, ND Environment & Hazard Risk

• Winter weatherRelatively High$225K/yr expected annual loss, about 21 events a year
• Cold waveRelatively Moderate$2.6M/yr expected annual loss, about 23 events a year
• Ice stormRelatively Moderate$296K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• WildfireRelatively Low$251K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 727 years
• HailRelatively Low$335K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.6 events a year
• Strong windRelatively Moderate$581K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.2 events a year
• LandslideVery Low$714/yr expected annual loss, about once every 6 years
• DroughtRelatively Low$22.1K/yr expected annual loss, about 13 events a year
• TornadoVery Low$157K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• Heat waveVery Low$14.4K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• LightningVery Low$15.8K/yr expected annual loss, about 27 events a year
• EarthquakeVery Low$1,310/yr expected annual loss, about once every 11,628 years

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, hurricane, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

10 of 2,511 (0.4%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

1

Insured in high-risk zones

1 (100%)

Flood claims since 1978

420

Claims paid since 1978

$11.2M

• Hail260
• Thunderstorm Wind142
• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill66
• Blizzard60
• Winter Storm50
• Flood44
• High Wind41
• Tornado36
• Heavy Snow28
• Flash Flood21

• Flood09/01/1999

  Benson

  $25M damage

  What happened

  After peaking at 1444.77 feet MSL in 1998, the 1999 Devils Lake lake level rose roughly another 2 feet and fluctuated around 1447.00 feet MSL . This presented more challenges and problems to the people surrounding the lake. For the town of Churchs Ferry, which is located on the Mauvis Coulee inlet to Devils Lake, people had to decide about the fate of the entire community. Floodwaters threatened to overtake the town, or most importantly, the sewers and sewage lagoons. After some meetings, the town decided to pursue a community-wide buyout plan. This will affect all 113 people in Churchs Ferry. The town of Minnewaukan, with 401 residents, was also facing some major decisions due to the rising lake. Basements and sewer lines were heaving from the high groundwater table. The town decided to hire an outside consultant to determine the status of the sewer system. For the city of Devils Lake, with a population of 7782, a dike on the south side of the city was completed. Like most of the people across the basin, they continued to hope for a longer term solution to the flooding problem, which would involve an outlet to the lake. Since Devils Lake is a closed basin, in order...

• Flood08/01/2001

  Benson

  $20M damage

  What happened

  Devils Lake rose to a new record stage of 1448.10 feet on August 9th. The lake now covered 129,000 acres and was beginning to flow into Stump Lake at about 20 cfs. Highway 1 near Stump Lake was close to being flooded. A total of $37.5 million has been spent on highway construction alone this year. Highway 19 was closed at the city of Devils Lake as a new bridge was being constructed. U.S. Highway 2 was partially closed as its grade was being raised and a new bridge was being built over the Mauvais Coulee near Churchs Ferry. Damages continued at the parks around the lake, especially at Grahams Island, Shelvers Grove, and Black Tiger Bay. High water levels flooded basements in the Spirit Lake Nation and Warwick. Much utility work was also being done in addition to the road construction.

• Flash Flood09/21/2019

  Maddock, Benson County

  $10.3M damage

  What happened

  Over 2 inches of rain fell in less than an hour, flooding streets and intersections.

• Flood04/21/1997

  Benson

  $10M damage

  What happened

  Snowmelt caused lakes, coulees, and ditches to fill with water, running toward Devils Lake. The 3 coulees running into Devils Lake experienced record flows. 80 percent of the county roads were estimated to be under water at some point. An Edmore woman, driving across a flooded road, ended up in the ditch. She was able to get out of her car and stand on the roof, spending an hour in rapidly moving water until she was rescued. A dam on Hurricane Lake was stressed on the 23rd due to high water, causing some evacuations in Leeds.

• Thunderstorm Wind96 kt wind06/19/2005

  Esmond, Benson County

  $6.5M damage

  What happened

  Downburst winds and tornadoes tore down 31 miles of 230 kV power transmission lines crossing far eastern Pierce and western Benson counties. The 25 mile section from the Pierce county line to 2 miles northwest of Minnewaukan was blown down between 5:00 am to 5:20 am CDT by winds of 90 to 110 mph. The Great River Power Company estimated property loss in Benson county at $6.45 million.

• Blizzard04/05/1997

  Benson

  $6M damage

  What happened

  With falling temperatures on the back side of the low, the freezing rain turned to ice pellets and then to snow. A strong pressure gradient created winds up to 65 mph, dropping visibilities down to zero. The strong wind, on top of heavy ice accumulations, caused thousands of power poles to snap. This cut power to over 100,000 people in eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota and resulted in $30 million in damages just to the power infrastructure. A 2,060 foot television tower collapsed near Galesburg on April 5th. With power cut, many people had to seek shelters with generator power in order to keep warm. Some smaller communities were without power for more than a week. Most television and radio stations were knocked off the air, causing one Fargo radio station to become the only source of storm news for the area. In Grand Forks, 3 inches of ice pellets fell, and as the wind increased, one foot drifts of ice pellets were created. Snowfall totals on the 6th ranged around 7 inches. Interstates 29 and 94 were both closed in North Dakota, along with US Highway 2 from Lakota to Grand Forks. A 33 year-old Lankin man died from exposure, after walking away from his...

• Leeds City ofServes 427 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Maddock City ofServes 382 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Minnewaukan City ofServes 224 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
• Oberon City ofServes 105 · Groundwater · Local government2 health violations+22 monitoring or reporting