Natural hazards · East Helena

East Helena, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in East Helena comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1981. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is East Helena?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in East Helena to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves46%Inland flooding29%Earthquakes14%Winter weather6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What East Helena faces

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

Cold waves

46% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

14% of expected damage

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

Winter weather

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about 40 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 East Helena flood?

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

2paid claims since 1981

$14Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19812026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lewis and Clark County.

Disasters that hit East Helena

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into East HelenaDeclared for Lewis and Clark County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $10K to the City of East Helena for repairs

Lewis and Clark County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

Around East Helena

East Helena and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

East Helenamostly cold wavesModerate

Helena Valley Southeastmostly cold wavesModerate

Helenamostly cold wavesVery low

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. East Helena 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 East Helena’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of East Helena. 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.