Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Big Timber faces more hazard damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Big Timber gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%), then wildfire (28%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Big Timber faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
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 Big Timber’s grade
River and rain flooding is 67% of the building damage FEMA expects in Big Timber, and Big Timber’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 28%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Big Timber’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.6M a year in losses across Big Timber: $2.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Big Timber flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Big Timber. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Big Timber isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sweet Grass County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Big Timber
Disasters that paid out in Big Timber itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Big Timber), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Severe Storms and Flooding22 households applied for aid$26K aid approved
Sweet Grass County has had 5 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Sweet Grass County, 2003–2006.
Old photos of Big Timber after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Big Timber archive →Get ready for what Big Timber faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Big Timber
Is Big Timber at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Big Timber has higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (67%) and wildfire (28%). 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.
Is Big Timber 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 Sweet Grass County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Big Timber?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Big Timber’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Big Timber?
By FEMA money that reached Big Timber, Severe Storms and Flooding (2011): 22 households applied for aid, $26K approved.
Is Big Timber at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (67%), and Big Timber’s rate for it is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Big Timber.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Big Timber’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.