Natural hazards · Whitefish

Whitefish, MT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Whitefish comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2018. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Whitefish?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Whitefish to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches.

Avalanches89%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Whitefish faces

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

Avalanches

89% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Inland floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Whitefish flood?

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

1paid claims since 2018

$10Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20182026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Whitefish 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone homes bought out and moved

Disasters that hit Whitefish

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WhitefishDeclared for Flathead County only

2022

Severe Storm and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $5K aid approved

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