Pine Butte School · Photo: Circletheblock · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Four Corners faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Four Corners gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns, #22 of 42 in Montana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (57%), then earthquakes (29%). 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 Four Corners 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
Earthquakes
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 Four Corners’ grade
River and rain flooding is 57% of the building damage FEMA expects in Four Corners, and Four Corners’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 8%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #22 of 42 in Montana; lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Four Corners’ residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Montana town has lower expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Four Corners has more expected damage per building than 51% of Montana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.4M a year in losses across Four Corners: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Four Corners flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Four Corners. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Four Corners isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Gallatin County.The storms Four Corners remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Gallatin County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Four Corners itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Gallatin County has had 4 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 Gallatin County, 2000–2020.
Four Corners and its neighbors
Four Corners has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four Corners | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Gallatin Gateway | — | 933 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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.
Get ready for what Four Corners 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Four Corners
Is Four Corners at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Four Corners has lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #22 of 42 in Montana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (57%) and earthquakes (29%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Four Corners 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 Gallatin County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Four Corners?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Four Corners’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Four Corners at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (57%), and Four Corners’ rate for it is lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Four Corners.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Four Corners’ 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.