Blog · October 14, 2026 · North Dakota
Reading the Kidder County Flood Zone Map for a parcel
The zone on FEMA's map affects insurance, building and resale near Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Main page: Kidder County, ND GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Weighing a property around Pettibone? A quick look at the Kidder County flood zone map shows whether the lot falls inside a mapped floodplain, and no account is needed. What this Kidder County guide covers: the free FEMA tools, what each zone label means, when insurance is required and what a LOMA is.
Where the Kidder County flood zone map lives
Closer to Dawson, start with FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: enter the street address, and choose the dynamic map. Rural land near Tuttle with no street number can still be found: zoom in from Interstate 94 and click inside the land.
The free map to start with
Your first stop is the North Dakota Parcel Viewer; it includes each assessed parcel around Lake Williams and Lake George National Wildlife Refuge. If you only know roughly where the land is, follow Interstate 94 on the aerial until the lines appear, then click inside the one you want. For a home near Tappen, copy the parcel ID before closing the panel; every office in the county asks for it first.
A word on accuracy
Around Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the acreage figure is an estimate; just a licensed surveyor establishes the real boundary on the ground. If you're looking near Steele, records update in batches, so a deed recorded last month can take weeks to appear.
Kidder County in a few facts
Steele serves as the county seat, home to the main records offices. You'll also find Dawson, Pettibone, Robinson, and Tappen, each with its own cluster of lots. Around 2,342 people live in Kidder County (Census estimate, 2023) across roughly 1,351 square miles. Kidder County dates to 1873, and some chains of title near Hutchinson Lake National Wildlife Refuge are long. Places such as Hutchinson Lake National Wildlife Refuge help you orient on the aerial.
A short flood checklist
Ask the listing agent for any Elevation Certificate on the property near Pettibone; an insurance quote early avoids surprises.
Decoding the flood zone labels
In and around Lake Williams, any A or V zone are Special Flood Hazard Areas, which FEMA defines as a 1% annual chance of flooding. For land near Hutchinson Lake National Wildlife Refuge, minimal risk is not no risk: FEMA notes that floods happen outside mapped zones too.
The paper trail behind a parcel
Before you sign anything, request the recorded deed through the County Recorder; the parcel line is a drawing of it, and that holds around Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge too. With a lot near Tappen, have ready the instrument number listed on the parcel record to skip a name search.
Parcel lines plus flood zones
FEMA doesn't draw property lines, so check the North Dakota Parcel Viewer too for the outline of the tract near Lake Williams.
Using it on a phone
The parcel map usually runs in a mobile browser, handy when you're parked on a road near Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, but coverage can be spotty out of town. A printout of the tract near Lake Williams helps when you meet an owner or agent.
Which office to call
If the acreage or value on a parcel near Crystal Springs looks off go to the Director of Tax Equalization, which maintains the tax roll. Questions about what you can build around Pettibone are for the local planning and health departments, town or county, depending on location.
Low spots and local drainage
Creeks and ditches near Pettibone may not have detailed mapping, so ask neighbors about past flooding. Wet ground around Lake George National Wildlife Refuge is a separate issue from flood zones; the National Wetlands Inventory mapper shows mapped wetlands.
Reading the legal description
North Dakota follows the Public Land Survey System, so rural legal descriptions near Lake Williams cite section, township and range. A standard section is about one square mile, roughly 640 acres, and a township holds 36 of them, though corrections make some sections near Hutchinson Lake National Wildlife Refuge odd-sized. Write down the legal description for the tract near Tappen for any title or survey request.
Insurance, lenders and building
For a home near Lake George National Wildlife Refuge, an Elevation Certificate from a surveyor helps: it can change the insurance price a lot. Remodeling a house in a zone near Tappen often needs a floodplain permit; ask the local floodplain administrator early.
Frequently asked
Can I challenge a flood zone near Tappen?
Usually, FEMA's LOMA process is the usual route when a building near Lake Williams sits above the base flood elevation; a surveyor's elevation data supports it.
Do I need to worry about flooding in Zone X around Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
For most people, shaded X is moderate risk and unshaded X is minimal risk; many owners near Lake George National Wildlife Refuge buy coverage anyway.
What does Zone AE mean near Tappen?
If you're looking near Lake George National Wildlife Refuge, AE is a Special Flood Hazard Area with a published base flood elevation; unnumbered A zones don't list one.
When is flood insurance required near Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
On ground around Steele, it's typically required only for structures in high-risk zones with federally backed loans; elsewhere it's optional.
Where do I find the parcel number for land near Lake George National Wildlife Refuge?
It's the number the Director of Tax Equalization uses to track a tract near Lake Williams; you'll see it in the viewer and on tax statements.
Open the official Kidder County, ND parcel map See it in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.