Natural hazards · Fishtail

Fishtail, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fishtail 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 Fishtail?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fishtail to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding70%Wildfire20%Cold waves5%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Fishtail faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

20% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamis

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 Fishtail flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Fishtail 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 Fishtail

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FishtailDeclared for Stillwater County only

2022

Severe Storm and Flooding

13 households applied for aid

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. Fishtail 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 Fishtail’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Fishtail. 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.