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Billings, Montana skyline in 2024Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Billings · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Billings faces less hazard damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Billings gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns, #9 of 42 in Montana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 56 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 86%Earthquakes 4%Wildfire 4%

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

less than 78%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#9 of 42 in Montana
Hazard risk
A−#9 of 42
in Montana · lower than 78% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
56
paid since 1978 · $372K
Flooded more than once
6
properties
Disasters paid out here
4
of 5 declared for Yellowstone County

What stands out about Billings’ natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 78% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Remembers 197811 flood claims were paid for 1978 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Billings 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

86%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Wildfire Hail Winter storms top 1% Tornadoes Strong wind Cold waves Ice storms Lightning Heat waves Landslides Avalanches top 2%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 33% of Billings’ expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.2%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Billings’ grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Billings, and Billings’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Winter storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Billings sits
Billings
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− #9 of 42 in Montana; lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Billings’ residents live in 30 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Earthquakes4%Wildfire4%Everything else7%

The typical Montana town has lower expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Billings has less expected damage per building than 80% of Montana towns.

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Billings has lower expected damage per building than 87% (#51 of 400). Because it is so big, its total expected yearly loss, $40.2M, is the 293th largest of those 400.

A firm figure. It combines 30 census tracts by where Billings’ residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Billings flood? Sometimes: 56 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Billings, from FEMA’s records: 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 11 claims1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 4 claims1982: 3 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 2 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 11 claims1998: 1 claim1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 4 claims2011: 10 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 6 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197819972011
19782026
56
paid claims since 1978
$372K
paid to owners
6
homes flooded more than once
$7K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Billings isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Yellowstone County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Billings

Disasters that paid out in Billings itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Billings), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2022Severe Storm and Flooding58 households applied for aid$82K aid approved$3.1M to the City of Billings for repairs
  2. 2011Severe Storms and Flooding140 households applied for aid$206K aid approved$163K to the City of Billings for repairs10 flood claims paid that year
  3. 46 households applied for aid$936K aid approved
  4. 58 households applied for aid$308K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BillingsYellowstone County only

Yellowstone 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 6 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Yellowstone County, 2006–2021.

Were you here?

Old photos of Billings after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Billings archive →
Next door

Billings and its neighbors

Billings has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Lockwood: hazard risk B+LockwoodBillings
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BillingsA−less damage than 78%river and rain flooding56
LockwoodB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding7

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Billings faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Billings

Is Billings at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Billings has lower expected damage per building than 78% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #9 of 42 in Montana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Billings flood?

Flood insurance has paid 56 claims in Billings since 1978, $372K in all, or 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 6 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Billings 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 Yellowstone County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Billings?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Billings’ 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 Billings?

By FEMA money that reached Billings, Severe Storm and Flooding (2022): 58 households applied for aid, $82K approved, and $3.1M to the City of Billings for repairs.

Is Billings at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Billings’ rate for it is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Billings.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Billings’ 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.