Natural hazards · Columbus

Columbus, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Columbus comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Columbus?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Columbus to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding66%Cold waves15%Wildfire9%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Columbus faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Wildfire

9% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Columbus flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Stillwater County.

Disasters that hit Columbus

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColumbusDeclared for Stillwater County only

2022

Severe Storm and Flooding

22 households applied for aid $141K aid approved $72K to the Town of Columbus for repairs

2019

Flooding

$37K to the Town of Columbus for repairs

Stillwater County has had 14 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. Columbus 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 Columbus’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Columbus. 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.