FEMA Records
10
Low volume
Montana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Deer Lodge County, MT
10 FEMA disaster declarations (1974-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 10
- FEMA declarations
- 7
- Major disasters
- 18
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Deer Lodge County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 10 declarations, more than 10% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 9% below the Montana county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county safer than 18%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 18%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 10
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 9
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
How does Deer Lodge County compare?
Deer Lodge County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
10 10th percentile higher than 10% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03
Deer Lodge County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Montana county average
What does Deer Lodge County's hazard record show?
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Deer Lodge County's 10 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Montana, however, the count is 9% below the county mean. 7 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Severe Storm, appearing 3 times. The full 46-year record averages 0.2 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 17.6/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $5.9M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Relatively Moderate social-vulnerability score and Relatively Low community-resilience score. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Avalanche stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 8 years here, based on 4 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 9 claims and $8.3K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
Start with the state benchmark: a Montana county averages 11.0 federal declaration records, while Deer Lodge County has 10. The gap is 9% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
49 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Deer Lodge County, MT · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Low
7/30
10 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.5x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
11/25
10 declarations (0.9x state county average of 11)
Major Disaster Share High
18/25
7 of 10 declarations are major disasters (70%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Deer Lodge County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. Montana Avg
-9%
State avg: 11.0
vs. National Avg
-52%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.2
Over 46 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Deer Lodge County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
70%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
18
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Deer Lodge County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Avalanche | Relatively High | roughly once every 8 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 45 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 536 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 4.3 times per year |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 181 years |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 32 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 65 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 57 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 0.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 3 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 57 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 3
Biological 2
Fire 2
Flood 2
Hurricane 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Deer Lodge County's record, 30% of its declarations. In FEMA's vocabulary this covers convective weather: thunderstorm straight-line winds, large hail, and the multi-day outbreaks that often carry embedded tornadoes. Activity is heaviest in spring and summer, though the season varies by region.
These events behave differently from a hurricane on paper. Damage tends to be distributed along a storm track rather than concentrated on a coastline, and a declaration typically follows an outbreak that crossed several counties over a few days, not a single point of impact. Because the qualifying threshold is the cost of uninsured public and individual losses rather than storm intensity, two similar storms can produce a declaration in one year and none in another.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 7 70.0%
of all 10 declarations
Emergency - 2 20.0%
of all 10 declarations
Fire Management - 1 10.0%
of all 10 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 10 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 10 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4508 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-31 |
| 3476 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 1996 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-06-17 |
| 3253 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1340 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2000-08-30 |
| 2317 | MT-SOUTHWESTERN ZONE TWO FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2000-08-05 |
| 1183 | SEVERE STORMS,ICE JAMS, SNOW MELT, FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-07-25 |
| 1105 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND ICE JAMS | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-02-23 |
| 761 | HEAVY RAINS, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-03-15 |
| 417 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING & LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 1974-01-29 |
Storm Events in Montana
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Deer Lodge County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 3,735 | 1 | 2 | $5.3M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2,396 | 5 | 24 | $15.1M |
| Hail | 2,015 | 0 | 0 | $4.1M |
| Winter Storm | 1,502 | 13 | 18 | $11.2M |
| Heavy Snow | 796 | 5 | 3 | $143.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
9
Total Paid
$8.3K
Avg Per Claim
$920
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 17.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$5.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Moderate
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Avalanche Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Drought Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Hail Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Avalanche
Avalanche is the most geographically restricted hazard in the model, limited to steep terrain holding seasonal snow. Its exposure concentrates on mountain roads, rail corridors and backcountry recreation rather than on the built environment generally.
Worth noting for Deer Lodge County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Avalanche carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. That is not a contradiction, the two measure genuinely different things. Declarations record federal ACTION, which requires damage costly enough to exceed state and local capacity; the Risk Index models EXPECTED annual loss across all 18 hazards whether or not any declaration ever followed. A hazard can be the county's largest modeled exposure and never once have driven a declaration.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Deer Lodge County's closest FEMA peer: Isanti County, MN
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Deer Lodge County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Deer Lodge County shows 10 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Deer Lodge County: 7 of 10 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Deer Lodge County: NRI composite 17.6 (Very Low).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Deer Lodge County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 10 FEMA declarations, Deer Lodge County sits in the high-volume declaration band - see how that count ranks against other U.S. counties.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Deer Lodge County?
The most common disaster type in Deer Lodge County is Severe Storm, with 3 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Fire (2), Flood (2).
How does Deer Lodge County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Montana average?
The typical Montana county has 11.0 FEMA declaration records; Deer Lodge County has 10, or 9% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 52% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Deer Lodge County received?
Deer Lodge County has received 7 major disaster declarations, representing 70% of all 10 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Deer Lodge County filed?
Deer Lodge County has 9 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $8.3K in payments, with an average of $920 per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Deer Lodge County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Deer Lodge County was 2000, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1974 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Deer Lodge County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Deer Lodge County, Montana has an overall risk score of 17.6 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively Moderate and community resilience is Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $5.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Deer Lodge County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Deer Lodge County is Avalanche (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Low) and Winter Weather (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts avalanche here at roughly once every 8 years, drawn from 4 historical events on record. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, exposed assets, and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
What this means for Deer Lodge County
Against a Montana county mean of 11 declarations, Deer Lodge County, MT records 10, or 9% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (7 of 10) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Montana overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 10% of recorded county totals, but its own Montana benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.