Maclay Bridge · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Orchard Homes than in 64% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Orchard Homes gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns, #16 of 42 in Montana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (49%), then earthquakes (44%). Flood insurance has paid 42 claims here since 1996.
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 stands out about Orchard Homes’ natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Orchard Homes 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
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 Orchard Homes’ grade
River and rain flooding is 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Orchard Homes, and Orchard Homes’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 4%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
B #16 of 42 in Montana; lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Orchard Homes’ residents live in 2 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, Orchard Homes has less expected damage per building than 63% of Montana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.4M a year in losses across Orchard Homes: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Orchard Homes flood? Sometimes: 42 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Orchard Homes, from FEMA’s records: 17.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Orchard Homes isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Missoula County.The storms Orchard Homes remembers
None of the 11 disasters declared for Missoula County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Orchard Homes itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 201115 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Missoula County
- 201815 flood claims paidThe year of Flooding, declared for Missoula County
- 19978 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms,ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding, declared for Missoula County
Missoula County has had 11 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 7 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Missoula County, 2000–2017.
Old photos of Orchard Homes after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Orchard Homes archive →Orchard Homes and its neighbors
Orchard Homes has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchard Homes | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 42 |
| Missoula | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 19 |
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 Orchard Homes 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.
- 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 Orchard Homes
Is Orchard Homes at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Orchard Homes has lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #16 of 42 in Montana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (49%) and earthquakes (44%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Orchard Homes flood?
Flood insurance has paid 42 claims in Orchard Homes since 1996, $435K in all, or 17.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Orchard Homes 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 Missoula County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Orchard Homes?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Orchard Homes’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Orchard Homes at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Orchard Homes’ rate for it is lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Orchard Homes.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Orchard Homes’ 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.