Natural hazards · Hamilton

Hamilton, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hamilton comes from wildfires, 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 Hamilton?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hamilton to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and avalanches.

Wildfire32%Avalanches29%Inland flooding15%Cold waves14%Earthquakes6%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Hamilton faces

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

Wildfire

32% of expected damage

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

Avalanches

29% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 0% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 16% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Hamilton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ravalli County.

Disasters that hit Hamilton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HamiltonDeclared for Ravalli County only

2025

Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds

$38K to the City of Hamilton for repairs

Ravalli County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

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