Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Choteau than in 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Choteau gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1991.
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 Choteau 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
Earthquakes
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 Choteau’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Choteau, and Choteau’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Choteau’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Choteau: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Choteau flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1991
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Choteau, from FEMA’s records: 3.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Choteau isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Teton County.The storms Choteau remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Teton County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Choteau itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19911 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20021 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20111 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Teton County
Teton County has had 8 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Teton County, 2017–2017.
Old photos of Choteau after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Choteau archive →Get ready for what Choteau 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Choteau
Is Choteau at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Choteau has higher expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and wildfire (9%). 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 Choteau flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Choteau since 1991, $2K in all, or 3.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 53% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Choteau 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 Teton County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Choteau?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Choteau’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Choteau at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Choteau’s rate for it is higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Choteau.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Choteau’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.