Natural hazards · Polson

Polson, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Polson comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Polson?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Polson to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches and inland flooding.

Avalanches44%Inland flooding20%Cold waves14%Earthquakes14%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Polson faces

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

Avalanches

44% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Polson flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lake County.

Disasters that hit Polson

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Lake County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Polson itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into PolsonDeclared for Lake County only

Lake County has had 6 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and fires.

Around Polson

Polson and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Kerrmostly avalanchesHigh

Jettemostly avalanchesHigh

Polsonmostly avalanchesHigh

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