Natural hazards · Harlowton

Harlowton, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Harlowton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Harlowton?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Harlowton to be higher than in 54% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding59%Cold waves23%Lightning7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Harlowton faces

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

Inland flooding

59% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lightning

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Harlowton flood?

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

9paid claims since 1979

$29Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wheatland County.

Disasters that hit Harlowton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HarlowtonDeclared for Wheatland County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

$28K to the City of Harlowton for repairs

Wheatland County has had 8 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. Harlowton 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 Harlowton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Harlowton. 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.