Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Belcourt’s building-damage rate from wildfire is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belcourt gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (58%), then river and rain flooding (25%). 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 stands out about Belcourt’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Belcourt faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
Ice storms
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 Belcourt’s grade
Wildfire is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Belcourt, and Belcourt’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 6%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Belcourt’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Belcourt: $587K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Belcourt flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Belcourt. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Belcourt isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rolette County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Belcourt
Disasters that paid out in Belcourt itself (aid to households or repair grants to Belcourt), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2009Severe Storms and Flooding286 households applied for aid$185K aid approved
Rolette County has had 22 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.
Old photos of Belcourt after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Belcourt archive →Get ready for what Belcourt faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Belcourt
Is Belcourt at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belcourt has lower expected damage per building than 61% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (58%) and river and rain flooding (25%). 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 Belcourt 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 Rolette County, 4% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Belcourt?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Belcourt’s 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 Belcourt?
By FEMA money that reached Belcourt, Severe Storms and Flooding (2009): 286 households applied for aid, $185K approved.
Is Belcourt at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Belcourt’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Belcourt.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Belcourt’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.