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Moorcroft, WyomingPhoto: Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Moorcroft · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Moorcroft than in 80% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moorcroft gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (63%), then hail (15%). 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

more than 80%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
By hazard

What Moorcroft 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

63%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Hail

15%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Wildfire

14%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Winter storms top 0% Earthquakes Strong wind Lightning top 1% Ice storms Cold waves top 4% Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 22% of Moorcroft’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 Moorcroft’s grade

River and rain flooding is 63% of the building damage FEMA expects in Moorcroft, and Moorcroft’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Hail adds 15%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Moorcroft sits
Moorcroft
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding63%Hail15%Wildfire14%Everything else9%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $818K a year in losses across Moorcroft: $562K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Moorcroft’s 946 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Pine Haven town (493 residents) and Hulett town (309 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 Moorcroft flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Crook County.
Disasters

The storms Moorcroft remembers

None of the 3 disasters declared for Crook County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Moorcroft itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MoorcroftCrook County only

Crook County has had 3 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Crook County, 2001–2006.

Be ready

Get ready for what Moorcroft 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 ↗
Hail
  • Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
  • Stay away from windows while it falls.
  • Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
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 Moorcroft

Is Moorcroft at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Moorcroft has higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (63%) and hail (15%). 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 Moorcroft 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 Crook County, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Moorcroft?

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

Is Moorcroft at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (63%), and Moorcroft’s rate for it is higher than 75% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Moorcroft.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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