Natural hazards · Townsend

Townsend, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Townsend comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 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 Townsend?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Townsend to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes39%Inland flooding32%Cold waves16%Lightning10%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Townsend faces

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

Earthquakes

39% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lightning

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Townsend flood?

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

2paid claims since 1978

$14Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19782026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Broadwater County.

Disasters that hit Townsend

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TownsendDeclared for Broadwater County only

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $20K aid approved

Broadwater County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Townsend 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 Townsend’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Townsend. 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.