Natural hazards · Harlem

Harlem, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Harlem comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Harlem?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Harlem to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves45%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Harlem 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 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

45% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Harlem flood?

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

9paid claims since 1978

$16Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Blaine County.

Disasters that hit Harlem

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HarlemDeclared for Blaine County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

99 households applied for aid $71K aid approved $64K to the City of Harlem for repairs

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

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