Natural hazards · Fort Smith

Fort Smith, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fort Smith to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves16%Strong wind13%Wildfire13%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Fort Smith faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

13% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Fort Smith flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Big Horn County.

Disasters that hit Fort Smith

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Fort SmithDeclared for Big Horn County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $6K aid approved

Big Horn County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Fort Smith. 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.