Natural hazards · Helena

Helena, OK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Helena comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Helena?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Helena to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves.

Cold waves44%Drought14%Ice storms13%Tornadoes10%Inland flooding9%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Helena faces

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

Cold waves

44% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Drought

14% of expected damage

Recorded about 76 times a year in the area

Ice storms

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Helena flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Alfalfa County.

Disasters that hit Helena

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HelenaDeclared for Alfalfa County only

2020

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the Town of Helena for repairs

2019

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$2K to the Town of Helena for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$1K to the Town of Helena for repairs

2002

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$4K to the Town of Helena for repairs

Alfalfa County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and ice 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. Helena 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 Helena’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Helena. 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.