Natural hazards · Musselshell

Musselshell, MT natural hazards

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

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Musselshell to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and inland flooding.

Wildfire35%Inland flooding29%Cold waves23%Lightning7%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Musselshell faces

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

Wildfire

35% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year 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 51% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

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 Musselshell flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Musselshell County.

Disasters that hit Musselshell

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MusselshellDeclared for Musselshell County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $67K aid approved

Musselshell County has had 13 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. Musselshell 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 Musselshell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Musselshell. 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.