Natural hazards · Bigfork

Bigfork, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bigfork comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Bigfork?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bigfork to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding48%Earthquakes29%Cold waves13%Wildfire8%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Bigfork faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

29% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Wildfire

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Bigfork flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bigfork.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Bigfork isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Flathead County.

Disasters that hit Bigfork

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Bigfork itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Bigfork.

Brought FEMA money into BigforkDeclared for Flathead County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

Flathead County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Bigfork covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Bigfork’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Bigfork. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Bigfork total about $4.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.