Natural hazards · Colstrip

Colstrip, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Colstrip comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1997. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Colstrip?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Colstrip to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding43%Cold waves38%Wildfire7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Colstrip faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

38% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Colstrip flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Colstrip, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 1997

$2Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rosebud County.

Disasters that hit Colstrip

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColstripDeclared for Rosebud County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

Rosebud County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Colstrip covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Colstrip’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Colstrip. 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 Colstrip total about $1.1M 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.