Landslide Risk in South Dakota

All South Dakota counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index landslide score

Landslide risk — downhill movement of rock, soil, and debris on unstable slopes — is rated for 66 of 66 South Dakota counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Pennington County carries the state's highest landslide score at 84.8, with $30K in expected annual landslide losses.

No South Dakota county reaches the High band for landslide, and expected annual losses from landslide total roughly $66K statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Landslide

#CountyLandslide ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Pennington County
84.8
Low 1.73 / yr $30K
2 Yankton County
68.8
Low 0.09 / yr $4K
3 Lawrence County
63.9
Low 0.37 / yr $4K
4 Meade County
61.6
Very Low 1.16 / yr $4K
5 Oglala Lakota County
61.2
Very Low 1.55 / yr $2K
6 Fall River County
58.5
Very Low 0.76 / yr $2K
7 Roberts County
58.1
Very Low 0.16 / yr $2K
8 Minnehaha County
52.2
Very Low 0.11 / yr $2K
9 Custer County
52.1
Very Low 0.59 / yr $2K
10 Marshall County
48.6
Very Low 0.15 / yr $1K
11 Brown County
44.4
Very Low 0.16 / yr $1K
12 Day County
42.1
Very Low 0.15 / yr $599
13 Hanson County
41.1
Very Low 0.05 / yr $510
14 Hutchinson County
37.0
Very Low 0.10 / yr $659
15 Grant County
36.3
Very Low 0.10 / yr $771
16 Union County
35.8
Very Low 0.08 / yr $670
17 Bon Homme County
35.7
Very Low 0.08 / yr $685
18 Lincoln County
34.7
Very Low 0.07 / yr $810
19 Deuel County
33.2
Very Low 0.09 / yr $579
20 Butte County
32.9
Very Low 0.48 / yr $391
21 Clay County
32.0
Very Low 0.05 / yr $570
22 Dewey County
31.9
Very Low 1.04 / yr $201
23 Jackson County
30.5
Very Low 0.81 / yr $174
24 Jerauld County
30.3
Very Low 0.07 / yr $291
25 Stanley County
29.8
Very Low 0.67 / yr $422
26 Brookings County
29.3
Very Low 0.09 / yr $426
27 Todd County
28.4
Very Low 0.41 / yr $145
28 Lake County
27.9
Very Low 0.06 / yr $286
29 McCook County
27.7
Very Low 0.07 / yr $395
30 Haakon County
27.6
Very Low 0.67 / yr $229
31 Turner County
27.3
Very Low 0.07 / yr $317
32 Davison County
27.2
Very Low 0.05 / yr $257
33 Spink County
26.1
Very Low 0.15 / yr $317
34 Beadle County
25.8
Very Low 0.13 / yr $229
35 Codington County
24.7
Very Low 0.08 / yr $209
36 Moody County
23.8
Very Low 0.06 / yr $167
37 Ziebach County
23.2
Very Low 0.74 / yr $87
38 Mellette County
23.2
Very Low 0.63 / yr $97
39 Lyman County
22.1
Very Low 0.51 / yr $98
40 Corson County
21.6
Very Low 0.70 / yr $82
41 Gregory County
20.9
Very Low 0.48 / yr $153
42 Clark County
20.8
Very Low 0.11 / yr $183
43 Bennett County
19.2
Very Low 0.40 / yr $61
44 Harding County
19.2
Very Low 0.72 / yr $150
45 Hughes County
19.1
Very Low 0.12 / yr $166
46 Hamlin County
18.6
Very Low 0.05 / yr $147
47 Sanborn County
17.7
Very Low 0.06 / yr $129
48 Charles Mix County
17.2
Very Low 0.19 / yr $70
49 Perkins County
16.4
Very Low 0.75 / yr $100
50 Tripp County
15.4
Very Low 0.35 / yr $48
51 Aurora County
14.3
Very Low 0.07 / yr $64
52 Kingsbury County
13.7
Very Low 0.08 / yr $85
53 Brule County
11.7
Very Low 0.11 / yr $34
54 Jones County
11.1
Very Low 0.40 / yr $45
55 Miner County
8.8
Very Low 0.06 / yr $39
56 Douglas County
8.7
Very Low 0.04 / yr $25
57 Sully County
7.0
Very Low 0.12 / yr $21
58 Buffalo County
6.0
Very Low 0.10 / yr $7
59 Potter County
4.4
Very Low 0.11 / yr $7
60 Walworth County
4.2
Very Low 0.11 / yr $5
61 Hand County
4.2
Very Low 0.16 / yr $7
62 Campbell County
3.7
Very Low 0.12 / yr $7
63 Edmunds County
3.5
Very Low 0.11 / yr $6
64 McPherson County
2.7
Very Low 0.13 / yr $2
65 Faulk County
2.3
Very Low 0.10 / yr $2
66 Hyde County
1.8
Very Low 0.10 / yr $1

66 South Dakota counties with measurable landslide risk. See the national landslide ranking or all South Dakota counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which South Dakota county has the highest landslide risk?

Pennington County has the highest FEMA landslide risk score in South Dakota at 84.8 (Low), with $30K in expected annual losses and about 1.73 events per year.

How many South Dakota counties face significant landslide risk?

66 South Dakota counties record measurable landslide risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 0 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in South Dakota