Brown County, SD Environment & Hazard Risk

• Winter weatherVery High$1.5M/yr expected annual loss, about 20 events a year
• Cold waveRelatively High$16.4M/yr expected annual loss, about 13 events a year
• HailRelatively Moderate$1.5M/yr expected annual loss, about 3.9 events a year
• Strong windRelatively Moderate$1.7M/yr expected annual loss, about 2.6 events a year
• Ice stormRelatively Moderate$534K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 3 years
• WildfireRelatively Low$353K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 849 years
• TornadoRelatively Moderate$2.9M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• Heat waveRelatively Low$402K/yr expected annual loss, about 3.6 events a year
• LandslideVery Low$1,029/yr expected annual loss, about once every 6 years
• DroughtVery Low$30.9K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.5 events a year
• EarthquakeVery Low$67.6K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 4,566 years
• LightningVery Low$27.1K/yr expected annual loss, about 32 events a year

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

114 of 17,129 (0.7%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

884

Insured in high-risk zones

72 (8%)

Flood claims since 1978

484

Claims paid since 1978

$3.3M

• Thunderstorm Wind338
• Hail329
• Flood171
• High Wind58
• Blizzard49 · 1 death
• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill44 · 1 death
• Heavy Snow38
• Tornado33
• Drought30
• Winter Storm27 · 1 death

• Flood06/01/2019

  Winship, Brown County

  $36M damage

  What happened

  Spring snowmelt and heavy rain flooding from March, April, and May continued into June. This combined with above normal June rainfall resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of crops damaged or unplanted across central and northeast South Dakota. For the entire state of South Dakota, nearly 4 million acres of crops were left unplanted as a result of the flooding. Total damaged or unplanted crop loss estimates for central and northeast South Dakota were near 307 million dollars.

• Dense Fog09/15/2019

  Brown

  1 death, 1 injured

  What happened

  Dense fog contributed to a fatal two vehicle accident which occurred four miles west of Aberdeen around 8 am on Highway 12. A teenage boy was pulling onto Highway 12 in dense fog when his car was struck by a truck traveling east. The teenager died at the hospital from the injuries he sustained. The other vehicles' driver sustained serious non-life threatening injuries.

• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill01/26/2018

  Brown

  1 death

  What happened

  A 68 year-old Brown county woman died due to exposure to the cold. She was found near a grove of trees near Hecla on Thursday, January 25th.

• Cold/Wind Chill02/02/2015

  Brown

  1 death

  What happened

  An 88-year old woman in Columbia died from exposure as she had fallen and could not get back up. Low temperatures were in the single digits below zero with wind chills as low as 20 to 25 below zero.

• Winter Storm04/11/2013

  Brown

  1 death

  What happened

  A large slow moving upper level low pressure area moving across the region brought several rounds of heavy snow to much of central and northeast South Dakota. Snowfall amounts from 6 to as much as 22 inches occurred over the several day period. Travel became difficult if not impossible with some roads closed for a time. Interstate-90 was closed the evening of the 9th. Many schools were also closed across the region. Additionally, a 66 year old male suffered a heart attack and passed away while shoveling the snow in front of his house in Aberdeen. ||Snowfall amounts included; 6 inches south of Bristol, west of Eagle Butte, Doland, Elm Lake, Ipswich, Groton, Raymond, and Sisseton; 7 inches at Castlewood, Aberdeen, Kidder, and Stratford; 8 inches at Miller, Waubay, 5 miles west of Mission Ridge, Hayti, and Turton; 9 inches at Bath, Clark, Wilmot, and Gann Valley; 10 inches south of Harrold, Watertown, Milbank, and Mellette and 11 inches at Bryant and Murdo. Locations with a foot or more of snow included; 12 inches at Summit, 14 inches at Onida, Clear Lake, and Kennebec; 16 inches at Ree Heights, 18 inches at Highmore and 22 inches east of Hayes.

• Cold/Wind Chill03/08/2011

  Brown

  1 death

  What happened

  A 97-year old Aberdeen woman died from exposure to the cold when she went outside her apartment patio and the door locked behind her. The woman was believed to be outside for 8 to 10 hours. The overnight low was 2 degrees above zero. The winds averaged around 10 mph through the night giving a wind chill of around 10 below zero. Also, nearly an inch of snow occurred through the night.

• AberdeenServes 27,989 · Surface water · Local government7 health violations
• Web Water Development AssociationServes 20,750 · Surface water · PrivateNo health violations
• Brown-Day-Marshall RwsServes 5,673 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• GrotonServes 1,380 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
• WarnerServes 485 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Lakeside EstatesServes 460 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
• Country Village ParkServes 340 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations
• Prairiewood Property OwnersServes 300 · Purchased surface water · Private1 health violation+1 monitoring or reporting