Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Shoshone than in 86% of U.S. towns, led by wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Shoshone gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (49%), then river and rain flooding (48%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2012.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Shoshone faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Shoshone’s grade
Wildfire is 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Shoshone, and Shoshone’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 48% (higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Shoshone’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Shoshone: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Shoshone flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2012
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Shoshone, from FEMA’s records: 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 69% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Shoshone isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lincoln County.The storms Shoshone remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Lincoln County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Shoshone itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20121 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Lincoln County has had 4 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Shoshone after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Shoshone archive →Get ready for what Shoshone faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Shoshone
Is Shoshone at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Shoshone has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (49%) and river and rain flooding (48%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Shoshone flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Shoshone since 2012, $6K in all, or 1.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 69% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Shoshone in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Lincoln County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Shoshone?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Shoshone’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Shoshone at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Shoshone’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Shoshone.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Shoshone’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.