FEMA Records
10
Low volume
Montana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Liberty County, MT
10 FEMA disaster declarations (1986-2020), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 10
- FEMA declarations
- 8
- Major disasters
- 6
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Liberty 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 6%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Safer than 6%
- 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
- 4
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records; an EM authorizes a narrower set of federal assistance than a DR.
How does Liberty County compare?
Liberty 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
Liberty County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Montana county average
What does Liberty County's hazard record show?
Declaration frequency
Nationally, Liberty County's 10 FEMA records form a high-volume history; within Montana, however, the count is 9% below the county mean. 8 entries carry the Major Disaster classification. The largest incident group is Severe Storm, appearing 4 times. The full 34-year record averages 0.3 declarations annually. A DR label alone does not say whether Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both followed.
FEMA National Risk Index
FEMA's National Risk Index places this county in the low end of the national distribution, composite score 6.3/100 (Very Low). Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $2.8M in annualized losses). Two modifiers shape how that exposure becomes real-world harm here: social vulnerability (Relatively High) and community resilience (Very Low). Even the county's top-rated hazard, Cold Wave, only reaches Relatively Low on FEMA's scale, none of the 18 modeled hazards stand out here. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 10 times per year here, based on 196 historical events on record.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 4 claims and $7.1K 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 Liberty 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.
51 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Liberty 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 Very High
20/25
8 of 10 declarations are major disasters (80%)
Hazard Diversity High
13/20
5 different disaster types declared in Liberty 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
0.3
Over 34 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Liberty 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
80%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
6
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Liberty 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 10 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 21 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 64 modeled event-days per year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | roughly once every 7,441 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,196 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 1.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 21 times per year |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 21 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 4
Biological 2
Flood 2
Hurricane 1
Fire 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Liberty County's record, 40% 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 - 8 80.0%
of all 10 declarations
Emergency - 2 20.0%
of all 10 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 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 |
| 4388 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2018-08-30 |
| 4271 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2016-05-24 |
| 1996 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-06-17 |
| 3253 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1424 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2002-07-03 |
| 1340 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2000-08-30 |
| 1113 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, ICE JAMS, SOIL SATURATION | DR | Severe Storm | 1996-05-16 |
| 761 | HEAVY RAINS, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-03-15 |
Storm Events in Montana
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Liberty 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
4
Total Paid
$7.1K
Avg Per Claim
$1.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 6.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$2.8M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Drought Relatively Low
Wildfire Very Low
Earthquake Very Low
Hail Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Avalanche Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Ice Storm 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: Cold Wave
Cold Wave measures exposure to extreme cold rather than to snow. Its harm is concentrated in health effects, burst infrastructure and energy demand spikes, and it falls hardest where the building stock and the grid were not built with sustained cold in mind.
Worth noting for Liberty County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Low), 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
Liberty County's closest FEMA peer: Clark County, IL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Liberty County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Liberty County shows 10 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Liberty County: 8 of 10 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Liberty County: NRI composite 6.3 (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 Liberty County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Most disaster-prone counties
With 10 FEMA declarations, Liberty 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 Liberty County?
The most common disaster type in Liberty County is Severe Storm, with 4 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Flood (2), Hurricane (1).
How does Liberty County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Montana average?
The typical Montana county has 11.0 FEMA declaration records; Liberty 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 Liberty County received?
Liberty County has received 8 major disaster declarations, representing 80% of all 10 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Liberty County filed?
Liberty County has 4 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $7.1K in payments, with an average of $1.8K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Liberty County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Liberty County was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1986 to 2020.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Liberty County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Liberty County, Montana has an overall risk score of 6.3 out of 100 (Very Low). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $2.8M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Liberty County?
Based on FEMA NRI data, the highest-risk natural hazard in Liberty County is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Winter Weather (Relatively Low) and Drought (Relatively Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 10 times per year, drawn from 196 historical events on record. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
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 Liberty County
Against a Montana county mean of 11 declarations, Liberty County, MT records 10, or 9% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as high activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (8 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.