Natural hazards · Cardwell

Cardwell, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cardwell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is 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 Cardwell?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cardwell to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding54%Cold waves18%Earthquakes13%Wildfire6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Cardwell faces

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

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Wildfire

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cardwell flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Cardwell

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CardwellDeclared for Jefferson County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $840 aid approved

Jefferson County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and fires.

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. Cardwell is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

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

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.