Natural hazards · Gillette

Gillette, WY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gillette comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 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 Gillette?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gillette to be higher than in 38% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves37%Inland flooding25%Hail16%Earthquakes7%Tornadoes7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Gillette faces

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

Cold waves

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Gillette flood?

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

12paid claims since 1978

$31Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Campbell County.

Disasters that hit Gillette

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GilletteDeclared for Campbell County only

2005

Tornado

2 households applied for aid

Campbell County has had 3 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and tornadoes.

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. Gillette covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Gillette’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gillette. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Gillette total about $7.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.