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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Helena Valley Northwest · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Helena Valley Northwest than in 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Helena Valley Northwest gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns, #37 of 42 in Montana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (70%), then wildfire (24%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 70%Wildfire 24%Earthquakes 5%

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

more than 79%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#37 of 42 in Montana
Hazard risk
C−#37 of 42
in Montana · higher than 79% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
70% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 6 declared for Lewis and Clark County
By hazard

What Helena Valley Northwest 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

70%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

24%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Tornadoes Strong wind Hail Winter storms Cold waves top 3% Lightning Ice storms Heat waves Landslides Avalanches top 1%
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 29% of Helena Valley Northwest’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), 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 Helena Valley Northwest’s grade

River and rain flooding is 70% of the building damage FEMA expects in Helena Valley Northwest, and Helena Valley Northwest’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 24%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Helena Valley Northwest sits
Helena Valley Northwest
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #37 of 42 in Montana; higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Helena Valley Northwest’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding70%Wildfire24%Earthquakes5%Everything else1%

The typical Montana town has lower expected damage than 54% of U.S. towns; within the state, Helena Valley Northwest has more expected damage per building than 88% of Montana towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.0M a year in losses across Helena Valley Northwest: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Helena Valley Northwest’s 4,705 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Marysville CDP (82 residents) and Canyon Creek CDP (47 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Helena Valley Northwest flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Helena Valley Northwest. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Lewis and Clark County.
Disasters

The storms Helena Valley Northwest remembers

None of the 6 disasters declared for Lewis and Clark County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Helena Valley Northwest itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Helena Valley NorthwestLewis and Clark County only

Lewis and Clark County has had 6 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.

Also 7 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Lewis and Clark County, 2000–2024.

Next door

Helena Valley Northwest and its neighbors

Helena Valley Northwest is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Helena Valley West Central: hazard risk C+Helena Valley Northeast: hazard risk CHelena Valley West CentralHelena Valley NortheastHelena Valley Northwest
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Helena Valley West CentralC+more damage than 60%river and rain flooding43
Helena Valley NortheastCmore damage than 75%river and rain flooding6
Helena Valley NorthwestC−more damage than 79%river and rain flooding0

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 Helena Valley Northwest 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 ↗
Wildfire
  • 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.
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 Helena Valley Northwest

Is Helena Valley Northwest at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Helena Valley Northwest has higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #37 of 42 in Montana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (70%) and wildfire (24%). 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 Helena Valley Northwest 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 Lewis and Clark County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Helena Valley Northwest?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Helena Valley Northwest’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Helena Valley Northwest at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (70%), and Helena Valley Northwest’s rate for it is higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Helena Valley Northwest.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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