FEMA Records
16
Below median
Montana · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Stillwater County, MT
16 FEMA disaster declarations (1978-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Very Low. Most common hazard: Flood.
- 16
- FEMA declarations
- 10
- Major disasters
- 17
- NRI risk · Very Low
- Flood
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Stillwater County. Its 16 FEMA declarations are 46% above the Montana county mean and exceed the count for 27% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it safer than 17%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Safer than 17%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Very Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 16
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 60
- 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 30095 · Stillwater County 16 declarations · rank 2248/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-LOW · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-ABOVE
- DECL-MID 16
- MAJOR-MID 63%
- RANK-LOWER #2,248
- PHOTO-FINISH Greene
- NRI-LOW Very Low
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Flood
- VS-ST-ABOVE +46%
Nearest declaration peer: Greene, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Montana state profile
Stillwater County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Stillwater County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Frontier · near 16
Frontier · near
16 declarations
- Greene · near 16
Greene · near
16 declarations
- Stillwater · this county 16
Stillwater · this county
16 declarations
- Terrell · near 16
Terrell · near
16 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Stillwater County carries 16 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2248 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Stillwater County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Stillwater County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Stillwater County
16 27th percentile higher than 27% 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 · 2026-08-25
Stillwater County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Stillwater County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $6.1M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Very High), while Wildfire carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Stillwater County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 60 paid claims, totaling $1.4M. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $22.7K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Stillwater County's 16 federal records stand 46% above the Montana county mean of 11.0. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county's FEMA National Risk Index composite lands at 16.8/100 (Very Low), a modest reading against the rest of the country. Expected Annual Loss is rated Very Low (roughly $9.2M in annualized losses), tempered or compounded by a Very Low social-vulnerability score and Relatively Moderate community-resilience score. Even the county's top-rated hazard, Wildfire, 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 roughly once every 683 years here.
61 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Stillwater 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) Moderate
12/30
16 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
18/25
16 declarations (1.5x state county average of 11)
Major Disaster Share High
16/25
10 of 16 declarations are major disasters (63%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Stillwater County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Stillwater 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
63%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
17
Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Stillwater 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 683 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 8 years |
| Landslide | Very Low | an average of 1.4 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 22 times per year |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | an average of 35 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 235 years |
| Hail | Very Low | an average of 1.6 times per year |
| Drought | Very Low | 69 modeled event-days per year |
| Heat Wave | Very Low | 1.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 10,000 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 14 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 1 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Flood 5
Fire 5
Biological 2
Severe Storm 2
Straight-Line Winds 1
Hurricane 1
What Flood declarations mean here
Flood is the most frequent declaration type on Stillwater County's record, 31% of its declarations. Federal flood declarations cover two mechanisms that behave very differently: riverine flooding, which builds over days as a watershed drains and is usually forecast well in advance, and flash flooding, which can arrive in under an hour from rainfall that fell somewhere upstream.
Flood is also the one hazard class where a second federal dataset exists for the same events. The National Flood Insurance Program records what was actually paid on insured losses, so it measures a narrower thing than the declaration count: uninsured damage, and flooding outside mapped special flood hazard areas, never enters it. Reading the two together is more informative than either alone.
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 - 10 62.5%
of all 16 declarations
Fire Management - 4 25.0%
of all 16 declarations
Emergency - 2 12.5%
of all 16 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 16 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 16 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4902 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Straight-Line Winds | 2026-04-07 |
| 4745 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-10-11 |
| 4655 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2022-06-16 |
| 5324 | FALLING STAR FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-08-02 |
| 4508 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-31 |
| 3476 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4437 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2019-05-24 |
| 4172 | ICE JAMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2014-04-17 |
| 1996 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2011-06-17 |
| 2837 | EAGLE MOUNT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-09-04 |
| 2671 | DERBY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2006-08-30 |
| 2652 | SAUNDERS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2006-07-11 |
| 3253 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 1340 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2000-08-30 |
| 1183 | SEVERE STORMS,ICE JAMS, SNOW MELT, FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-07-25 |
| 558 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1978-05-29 |
Storm Events in Montana
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Stillwater 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
60
Total Paid
$1.4M
Avg Per Claim
$22.7K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Very Low
Score: 16.8/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$9.2M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Relatively Moderate
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Landslide Very Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Lightning Relatively Low
Riverine Flooding Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Hail Very Low
Drought Very Low
Heat Wave Very Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Ice Storm 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: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
Worth noting for Stillwater County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Wildfire carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Low), while the county's declaration history is led by Flood. 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
Stillwater County's closest FEMA peer: Briscoe County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Stillwater County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Stillwater County shows 16 FEMA declarations, led by Flood.
Similar Major-disaster share
Stillwater County: 10 of 16 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Stillwater County: NRI composite 16.8 (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 Stillwater County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Stillwater County: nearest out-of-state National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar NRI composite
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA NRI score. This county: 16.8 (Very Low).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 16. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Stillwater County's NFIP claims file (60 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
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).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Stillwater County?
The most common disaster type in Stillwater County is Flood, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (5), Biological (2), Severe Storm (2).
How does Stillwater County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Montana average?
FEMA lists 16 declaration records for Stillwater County. That is 46% above the Montana county mean of 11.0. Its count is also 23% below the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Stillwater County received?
Stillwater County has received 10 major disaster declarations, representing 63% of all 16 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Stillwater County filed?
Stillwater County has 60 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $1.4M in payments, with an average of $22.7K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Stillwater County?
No. In Stillwater County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Low), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $6.1M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Stillwater County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Stillwater County was 2020, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1978 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Stillwater County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Stillwater County, Montana has an overall risk score of 16.8 out of 100 (Very Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very Low and community resilience is Relatively Moderate. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $9.2M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Stillwater County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Stillwater County is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively Low). Other significant hazards include Avalanche (Very Low) and Landslide (Very Low). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 683 years. 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.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Stillwater County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Montana profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events