Natural hazards · Stanford

Stanford, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Stanford comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Stanford?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Stanford to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding49%Cold waves37%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Stanford faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Cold waves

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

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 Stanford flood?

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

Disasters that hit Stanford

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into StanfordDeclared for Judith Basin County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $8K aid approved $35K to the Town of Stanford for repairs

Judith Basin County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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