Montana Natural Disaster Risk by County
Of Montana's 56 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Flathead County (score 86.5 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $792 million a year.
OpenFEMA lists 110 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Montana since 1953 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is FM-5671-MT, Sand Creek Fire, declared 14 August 2026.
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Most exposed counties, hazard by hazard
Top 10 by FEMA hazard risk scoreTornado 56 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roosevelt County | Relatively Low | $322,402 |
| 2 | Yellowstone County | Relatively Low | $559,851 |
| 3 | Richland County | Relatively Low | $560,636 |
| 4 | Dawson County | Very Low | $334,784 |
| 5 | Cascade County | Very Low | $279,838 |
| 6 | Carbon County | Very Low | $140,784 |
| 7 | Gallatin County | Very Low | $258,621 |
| 8 | Custer County | Very Low | $126,261 |
| 9 | Sheridan County | Very Low | $134,992 |
| 10 | Fergus County | Very Low | $148,596 |
Inland flooding 56 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowstone County | Relatively Moderate | $29 million |
| 2 | Cascade County | Relatively Moderate | $25 million |
| 3 | Flathead County | Relatively Moderate | $24 million |
| 4 | Carbon County | Relatively Low | $11 million |
| 5 | Missoula County | Relatively Low | $19 million |
| 6 | Lincoln County | Relatively Low | $7.1 million |
| 7 | Lewis and Clark County | Relatively Low | $12 million |
| 8 | Gallatin County | Relatively Low | $16 million |
| 9 | Sanders County | Relatively Low | $5.8 million |
| 10 | Lake County | Relatively Low | $7.1 million |
Wildfire 56 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravalli County | Relatively High | $21 million |
| 2 | Lincoln County | Relatively Moderate | $4.1 million |
| 3 | Missoula County | Relatively Moderate | $6.8 million |
| 4 | Flathead County | Relatively Moderate | $4.8 million |
| 5 | Rosebud County | Relatively Moderate | $1.9 million |
| 6 | Big Horn County | Relatively Moderate | $2.0 million |
| 7 | Park County | Relatively Moderate | $2.7 million |
| 8 | Yellowstone County | Relatively Moderate | $2.9 million |
| 9 | Carbon County | Relatively Moderate | $1.9 million |
| 10 | Lewis and Clark County | Relatively Moderate | $2.5 million |
Earthquake 56 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flathead County | Relatively Moderate | $21 million |
| 2 | Gallatin County | Relatively Moderate | $17 million |
| 3 | Lake County | Relatively Moderate | $6.6 million |
| 4 | Missoula County | Relatively Moderate | $10 million |
| 5 | Silver Bow County | Relatively Low | $4.3 million |
| 6 | Lewis and Clark County | Relatively Low | $3.8 million |
| 7 | Beaverhead County | Relatively Low | $2.2 million |
| 8 | Madison County | Relatively Low | $1.9 million |
| 9 | Park County | Relatively Low | $1.4 million |
| 10 | Broadwater County | Relatively Low | $1.0 million |
Every Montana county, highest overall risk first
56| # | County | Overall risk | Score | Loss a year | Top hazard | Declarations | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flathead County | Relatively Moderate | 86.5 | $75 million | Avalanche | 13 | 4 |
| 2 | Yellowstone County | Relatively Moderate | 83.6 | $60 million | Winter weather | 12 | 21 |
| 3 | Cascade County | Relatively Moderate | 83.1 | $55 million | Winter weather | 5 | 13 |
| 4 | Gallatin County | Relatively Moderate | 81.0 | $66 million | Winter weather | 7 | 4 |
| 5 | Ravalli County | Relatively Low | 78.5 | $37 million | Wildfire | 11 | 3 |
| 6 | Missoula County | Relatively Low | 77.0 | $57 million | Wildfire | 19 | 2 |
| 7 | Lewis and Clark County | Relatively Low | 71.2 | $35 million | Winter weather | 14 | 6 |
| 8 | Lake County | Relatively Low | 67.7 | $23 million | Winter weather | 6 | 4 |
| 9 | Park County | Relatively Low | 66.3 | $28 million | Avalanche | 12 | 2 |
| 10 | Lincoln County | Relatively Low | 64.3 | $16 million | Wildfire | 12 | 0 |
| 11 | Dawson County | Relatively Low | 63.8 | $21 million | Cold wave | 8 | 15 |
| 12 | Carbon County | Relatively Low | 59.8 | $16 million | Landslide | 11 | 3 |
| 13 | Big Horn County | Relatively Low | 57.2 | $11 million | Strong wind | 7 | 11 |
| 14 | Roosevelt County | Relatively Low | 54.5 | $10 million | Cold wave | 6 | 17 |
| 15 | Richland County | Relatively Low | 52.7 | $23 million | Cold wave | 6 | 12 |
| 16 | Glacier County | Relatively Low | 51.5 | $9.8 million | Cold wave | 10 | 3 |
| 17 | Hill County | Relatively Low | 50.4 | $13 million | Cold wave | 11 | 7 |
| 18 | Rosebud County | Relatively Low | 49.7 | $8.7 million | Wildfire | 13 | 12 |
| 19 | Sanders County | Relatively Low | 47.4 | $9.0 million | Landslide | 14 | 1 |
| 20 | Blaine County | Relatively Low | 45.9 | $8.6 million | Cold wave | 11 | 7 |
| 21 | Fergus County | Relatively Low | 45.1 | $14 million | Cold wave | 8 | 28 |
| 22 | Beaverhead County | Relatively Low | 42.9 | $9.9 million | Avalanche | 4 | 14 |
| 23 | Custer County | Very Low | 42.1 | $10 million | Cold wave | 7 | 10 |
| 24 | Madison County | Very Low | 41.0 | $15 million | Avalanche | 5 | 2 |
| 25 | Chouteau County | Very Low | 39.5 | $9.9 million | Avalanche | 8 | 17 |
| 26 | Silver Bow County | Very Low | 38.0 | $14 million | Winter weather | 5 | 0 |
| 27 | Valley County | Very Low | 35.9 | $11 million | Hail | 11 | 44 |
| 28 | Phillips County | Very Low | 34.5 | $7.7 million | Cold wave | 8 | 15 |
| 29 | Pondera County | Very Low | 24.6 | $5.3 million | Cold wave | 12 | 0 |
| 30 | Jefferson County | Very Low | 21.6 | $8.6 million | Landslide | 9 | 1 |
| 31 | Teton County | Very Low | 19.0 | $8.2 million | Avalanche | 10 | 4 |
| 32 | Broadwater County | Very Low | 17.7 | $5.9 million | Landslide | 10 | 1 |
| 33 | Deer Lodge County | Very Low | 17.6 | $5.9 million | Avalanche | 8 | 1 |
| 34 | Musselshell County | Very Low | 17.0 | $4.9 million | Wildfire | 13 | 6 |
| 35 | Stillwater County | Very Low | 16.8 | $9.2 million | Wildfire | 14 | 1 |
| 36 | Sheridan County | Very Low | 15.1 | $5.0 million | Cold wave | 4 | 10 |
| 37 | Toole County | Very Low | 13.0 | $4.5 million | Cold wave | 10 | 7 |
| 38 | Wibaux County | Very Low | 11.1 | $6.7 million | Cold wave | 3 | 7 |
| 39 | Powell County | Very Low | 10.0 | $4.1 million | Landslide | 15 | 2 |
| 40 | Granite County | Very Low | 9.4 | $4.2 million | Landslide | 6 | 2 |
| 41 | Sweet Grass County | Very Low | 8.1 | $5.9 million | Wildfire | 8 | 2 |
| 42 | Mineral County | Very Low | 7.3 | $3.2 million | Landslide | 8 | 0 |
| 43 | Liberty County | Very Low | 6.3 | $2.8 million | Cold wave | 8 | 4 |
| 44 | Judith Basin County | Very Low | 5.5 | $3.4 million | Wildfire | 7 | 18 |
| 45 | Fallon County | Very Low | 5.4 | $4.3 million | Cold wave | 6 | 15 |
| 46 | McCone County | Very Low | 5.2 | $3.5 million | Cold wave | 8 | 9 |
| 47 | Prairie County | Very Low | 4.2 | $2.2 million | Cold wave | 5 | 3 |
| 48 | Powder River County | Very Low | 4.0 | $3.4 million | Wildfire | 10 | 18 |
| 49 | Wheatland County | Very Low | 3.5 | $2.1 million | Wildfire | 8 | 7 |
| 50 | Meagher County | Very Low | 2.8 | $2.2 million | Landslide | 8 | 3 |
| 51 | Garfield County | Very Low | 2.5 | $2.6 million | Wildfire | 11 | 12 |
| 52 | Daniels County | Very Low | 1.8 | $2.5 million | Cold wave | 6 | 10 |
| 53 | Carter County | Very Low | 1.7 | $2.3 million | Wildfire | 6 | 18 |
| 54 | Petroleum County | Very Low | 1.3 | $1.6 million | Lightning | 10 | 8 |
| 55 | Golden Valley County | Very Low | 1.0 | $1.3 million | Wildfire | 8 | 0 |
| 56 | Treasure County | Very Low | 0.5 | $1.1 million | Wildfire | 9 | 3 |
Score: FEMA's national percentile (higher = more risk). Declarations: federal declarations that named the county since 1953, not counting COVID-19. Tornadoes: NOAA SPC tornadoes that touched the county, 1950–2025.
Latest federal declarations in Montana
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What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index compares every US county with every other for 18 natural hazards, combining expected losses with social vulnerability and community resilience. It is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not the risk to any one property — for flood zones use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center ↗. Federal declarations exclude state declarations and SBA or USDA designations.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Montana
Which county in Montana has the highest natural disaster risk?
Of Montana's 56 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Flathead County (score 86.5 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $792 million a year.
Which Montana counties are most at risk from tornadoes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index tornado risk score: Roosevelt County, Yellowstone County, Richland County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
Which Montana counties are most at risk from inland flooding?
By FEMA's National Risk Index inland flooding risk score: Yellowstone County, Cascade County, Flathead County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Montana had?
OpenFEMA lists 110 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Montana since 1953 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is FM-5671-MT, Sand Creek Fire, declared 14 August 2026.