Natural hazards · West Glacier

West Glacier, MT natural hazards

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

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West Glacier?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Glacier to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches.

Avalanches78%Inland flooding9%Wildfire6%Everything else7%

By hazard

What West Glacier faces

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

Avalanches

78% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 West Glacier flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Flathead County.

Disasters that hit West Glacier

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into West GlacierDeclared for Flathead County only

Flathead County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

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. West Glacier 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 West Glacier’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to West Glacier. 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.